A Flute Player's Story
by God'sgirlforever
Summary: Allegra is running from her family's expectations with only her flute and her dreams of being a famous jazz flute player. Racetrack is looking for an intriguing girl he met at Medda's one day. Spot is searching for a mysterious girl he saved from the Delanceys. Together, could they help each other find what they're looking for? No swearing/slash, may be romance and faith included.
1. This is My Story-Lenmana

_**This story is for Panda Bear because she is awesome and reviewed on my other Newsies story and made my day. (And because I need something else to write or I'll more crazy than I already am, which isn't good.) So yeah, enjoy the story and tell me what you think.**_

_**I don't own Newsies. I do own my own characters. (As in Allerga and her family.)**_

My name is Lenmana Moreno and this is my story.  
My story is an interesting story. At least, I think it is. It takes place in New York City, New York in the years of 1899 and 1900. I suppose it really starts many years before that. It starts in Arizona with my parents. My mother was a Hopi Indian living in Arizona. She lived with her family on the plains. My father was a Spanish man from New York who was unhappy with his life at the time. He came to live among the Hopi people, hoping to find new meaning in his life. He found that with my mother-at least, that's what he always said. They were happy, at first.  
Then I was born. I could always tell my parents loved me. They took care of me and tried to raise me right. But they came from different cultures and so it caused conflicts on what culture to raise me in. My father wanted to raise me in a Spanish-American culture. My mother wanted to keep her culture and teach me her ways.  
My mother called me Lenmana Kachina. Lenmana means "flute girl" and Kachina means "sacred dancer" or "spirit". She told me I always danced when she played her Native American flute. My father wanted a name that people could say. He called me Allegra, meaning cheerful or joyous. His reason was that I was born with a smile on my face and because I brought so much joy to the family.  
Before we continue, I should introduce you to the members of my family. My family was by no means a perfect family. I don't believe such things exist. But people can live together in harmony, and that is how my family lived for many years. My family had four people in it. You have been introduced to my father and mother already. There is also my twin brother, Cha'akmongwi. His name means crier chief because when we were young, he would cry more than I would. My father called him Castel, which means belonging to a castle. I think my father secretly wanted his only son to be rich and powerful one day. My twin was my father's favorite child. I was my mother's. They would never say it out loud, but it was true. My brother was so much like my father even my mother couldn't tell them apart some days. I was the spitting image of my mother from a very young age. But I had the stubbornness of both my parents. That stubbornness is what brings this story into existence.  
But I'm getting ahead of myself. So let me start from the beginning. I think I should start from the very beginning. A very good place to start, no? So here is my story, from beginning to end.  
My name is Lenmana Moreno and this is my story.

_**Wow that was short. Hopefully it wasn't too terrible. Review and let me know what you think. (And I better see a review from Panda Bear, since this is her story!)**_


	2. Running Away-Lenmana

_**Panda Bear-I'm glad you're here and that you're excited your story is here. I think I posted this around 1:30 or so in the morning. It is kinda funny how you jump to fanfics first thing in the morning, but hey, we all have our things. Since I started writing stories on here I check my email first thing to see if I've gotten any reviews. I'm glad you like the story so far. The Native American thing just kinda popped into my head as I was thinking about how to start the story. Hey, who wouldn't love Race and his wise-cracking Italian ways or Spot and his...Spot Conlon ways. (And his line "Never fear, Brooklyn is here!" Or his line "On the grounds of Brooklyn yer Honor!") And this chapter will answer your question about Castel. I'm thinking I might have to use that Newsie name on him. If I do, you will get full credit for suggesting it.**_

_**Disclaimer-I still don't own anything except my OC's (which in this case would be Lenmana and her family) so please don't sue me.**_

I dodged through the busy streets of Queens, hoping to make it home before it became too dark and the skies let loose the rain it had been holding in all day. It had been a long day for me and I was tired. Today I had school and when I got home, I had lessons from my mother on Native American traditions. Late at night I practiced the flute. My mother taught me how to play her Native American flute, but in secret I played flute in a jazz band in a vaudeville theatre in Manhattan.  
Dodging one last person, I arrived at my family's town home just as the skies let loose. Castel met me at the door with a towel in his hand and a scowl on his face. "Papa's angry," he told me in Spanish. "He fought with Mama again. She still doesn't want you going to that school."  
I used the towel to dry my face and long black hair. "I don't want to go to school. I hate it. I just want to play flute."  
Castel nodded in understanding. "Do you still have trouble with reading and spelling?"  
I nodded back. "The other kids tease me something fierce." I walked into my room and fell backwards onto my bed. Castel followed and sat on the floor like Mama, grabbing my pillow to sit on.  
"You're the best flute player I know. Bet you'll be famous one day. Mi hermana, the famous flute player."  
I smiled at the thought. "I visited a theatre today. A woman named Medda owns it and she lets bands play there. Real bands! Oh Castel, it was wonderful being there! I could see myself on stage, playing in a real jazz band!"  
"Lenmana, is that you?" Mama's voice softly rang out in her native Hopi language. She only knew a bit of Spanish; not enough to speak fluently like Papa and Castel and I.  
"Yes Mama," I called back in Hopi. "I'm in my room."  
"Hello Lenmana," she said as she bent down to kiss my head. She sat next to Castel and kissed his head. "Hello Cha'akmongwi. How are my children today?" She listened carefully as we told her about our days, nodding at the right times. Just as I finished telling about being laughed at when I had read out loud in class, Papa entered my room.  
"Mis hijos." He sat down next to me on the bed. "Mama and I have been talking and we have something very important to tell you." Castel and I looked at each other. This couldn't be good news for either of us. "Starting tomorrow, Castel will be working with me. Allegra, you will continue with your studies. Your mother also wants to teach you in her ways. It would be wise to return straight home from school. No more of this silly flute playing. I am expecting both of you to do well in your studies." With that, he got up and left the room. Mama moved next to me on the bed and pulled me into a hug.  
"I love you, my daughter. I will keep some time in our studies together for you to play your flute." She kissed my head once more before leaving, leaving Castel and I alone again. We looked at each other, anger on both of our faces.  
"I know this is unfair," Castel said quietly, before I could speak the words myself. As my twin, Castel often knew what I would say before I could tell him.  
"I hate school! Mama knows how hard it is. I hate it! And Papa doesn't listen. I don't want to go to school! It's unfair! Why should I have to go? You want it more than I do." I continued to rant at my twin, who sat in silence until I ran out of energy to keep ranting.  
"I want to keep going to school as much as you want to play flute all day," he said once I fell silent. "I need to keep going. There is much to learn, especially if I am to become a lawyer." Castel's secret dream was to become a famous lawyer one day. He had once told me he would be a doctor if he had to, but he didn't want to be a doctor like Papa. Papa was a doctor that used only herbs and things from nature in his practice. He wanted Castel to take over his business one day, but Castel wasn't interested. Mama stayed home and kept house for us. I guessed if I was to take lessons with Mama, I would end up getting married young and keeping house like her one day. I didn't want that. I wanted to be free and play my flute all day.  
"I say we should do something," I told him, jumping up and pacing the room.  
"What can we do? Papa's word is law in this house."  
"We can run away. We can rent out a room and you can go to school. I'll find a job that doesn't require reading. Castel, we can do it!" The words started coming out faster, a mixture of Spanish and Hopi. I got up and started pacing as I talked. "We can leave tonight while Mama and Papa are sleeping. They won't notice until morning and by then we can be far away. Or maybe close by, because they won't think to look so close to home. But we can do it!"  
"Na-Na, stop and think about it." I paused at the sound of my nickname. My twin had called me Na-Na as children because he couldn't say my name. It was a special nickname because only he called me that. "If we ran away, where would we go? I would need to be here for school. You can't read well and most jobs require you to read. Even if you could, we don't speak English well enough to get by. We would have to place to live because we would have no way of getting money. It's a nice idea, but it can't work."  
I sat back down on my bed, disappointed. I hadn't thought about that too well. Turning the idea over in my head, I thought about what Castel had said and tried to think of ways to make it work. "We could go to Manhattan. That's where Medda's place is. I can find a way to get hired there and play my flute." I started getting excited again as I thought more about it. I got up and started pacing again. "That would take care of the job. I wouldn't need to read anything except music, and I can do that. We might have to sleep in the streets for a few days until we find a place, but as soon as I get a job we can start looking. A job playing flute would also take care of the language barrier for a while. We can learn English as we go."  
"You really don't want to go to school, do you?" Castel asked.  
I shook my head. "I'm not going. You can stay if you want, but I refuse." He looked thoughtful for a long time as I started piling things on my bed to take with me. Finally he went into his room and came back with his own bag. "Okay, what do we need to bring?" he asked. I smiled and hugged him.

* * *

Silently looking into Mama and Papa's room, I could see both of them in bed, fast asleep. I snuck back to my room and nudged Castel.  
"Mi hermano! Wake up!" I hissed quietly. "Wake up! Time to go!"  
Castel jumped up and grabbed his bag. I grabbed mine and we opened the window leading to the fire escape. Dropping our bags over, we silently climbed out and shut the window again before climbing down the stairs.  
We ran quickly through the silent streets until we were out of breath. Stopping under a nearby streetlight, I looked around, hoping to see a clue as to where we were. I recognized nothing. "I think we're lost," I whispered to my twin in Spanish. He leaned on his knees, panting heavily. A shadow fell over us and I looked up to see two boys standing in front of us. The taller one said something in English. I didn't know what he had said, but the look on his face suggested it wasn't something pleasant. I felt my brother stand up and look at the boys. Turning around, I whispered "I think we should run." He nodded and grabbed my hand. We both started running as fast as we could. Hearing footsteps behind us, I saw them running after us. "They're coming after us!"  
"Split up!" he called out.  
"What? No!"  
"Do it! See that bridge ahead? Meet there in 20 minutes! We can figure out our plan after that!" Castel dropped my hand and took off in the opposite direction.  
I stopped running and called after him. "Castel, come back! Don't leave me! Castel!" The boys had looked surprised to see my twin run past them, but were recovered now as they came towards me. They looked happy with the fact that I was now alone. I felt scared as I looked at them, nothing around for me to defend myself with. Out of nowhere came a blur that started attacking the people in front of me. It fought them off and stood there, yelling at them as they ran away. Once they were out of sight, it turned back to me and I could see it was a boy about my age. He spoke something to me that I couldn't understand. Not knowing what else to do, I started to run away. "Gracias!" I called back as I ran over the bridge, leaving the boy standing there alone and scratching his head.

**_Ohhh, I wonder who saved Lenmana? Read and review and you can find out next chapter! (Or the chapter after that...depending on what my brain comes up with...)_**


	3. Mysterious girls and Noisy boys-Spot

_**Panda Bear-no need to worry. Read this chapter and you will (hopefully) figure out who it was. And no problem. I was thinking I need something to fill my time now that my other story is done, so I figured I might as well start your story and give you something to read. If it cheers you up, that's even better! I'm glad it made you feel better after those tests. Oh, and tell your friends to be very jealous that you're getting a story and they're not.**_

**_Let's clear a few things up before you read this chapter, shall we?_**

**_Number 1) I don't own Newsies. I don't own Newsies Characters. I don't own anything._**

**_Number 2) I lied a little bit because I do own Castel, Lenmana, and Tajo._**

**_Number 3) Any Spanish/non-English languages I use shall be translated at the end of chapters._**

**_Number 4) I have decided for this story to attempt to switch points of view. Last chapter was Lenmana (in case you somehow missed that.) This chapter will be Spot and I will try to let you know whose point of view it is. If I forget, mention it in a review and I will clear that up for everyone._**

**_Number 5) I like getting reviews. They make me write faster. Also, people who review regularly get to choose a story or a character written just for them._**

**_Now go read and review!_**

* * *

As the girl ran across the bridge, I stood there scratching my head. I had asked her name and if she needed a place to stay the night, but she took off running. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned and walked back to the Brooklyn Lodging house. It was oddly quiet now that I was alone, so I started to hum a tune to myself. A voice calling for someone in Spanish stopped me again as I drew close to the lodging house.  
"Lenmana? Es que usted?"_  
_Stopping to look around, I saw a boy my age looking like he was searching for someone. "Hey! Hey you!" I called, hoping to help. "Can I help?" He looked over at the sound of my voice, but his expression was one of confusion.  
"Lo siento, no hablo Ingles."_  
_Great, I thought to myself. He doesn't speak English. I was guessing he came from a Spanish home where the parents didn't know English. At any rate, he didn't understand me and I didn't understand him. Where was Tajo when you needed him? Tajo was a Brooklyn newsie that spoke several languages and my second. I pointed to the boy in front of me, then to myself, and finally in the direction of the lodging house, hoping he'd get the message to follow me. He seemed more confused than ever as I repeated the signs. Realizing the uselessness in trying to make him follow me, I sighed and looked around, hoping for a way to make him understand. Just then I saw Racetrack coming back from Sheepshead. "Hey Race!" I waved him over.  
"Hey Spot," he said, coming over. "Ise thought youse hitched a ride outta here in Roosevelt's carriage."  
"I came back."  
"Oh." He seemed a bit confused about my lack of explanation. I wasn't about to tell him what had happened on that ride. "What did youse need?"  
"I need you ta translate. Dat boy don't speak English and I need you ta ask if I can help."  
Race turned to the boy and started talking to him in Italian. Several minutes later, after a long exchange between the two, Race turned back to me and told me what he had learned. "His name's Castel and he's lookin for his twin sister. They got separated and he don't got a place ta stay da night."  
"I don't know 'bout his sister but tell him he can stay da night."  
Race translated for me. The Spanish boy quickly nodded his head, reaching down to grab his things. He said something else in Spanish, pointing in the direction of the bridge.  
"He's wondering if he can be shown da way ta 'Hattan in da morning," Race said. I nodded and motioned him to follow me as Race explained everything to him in Italian. He followed me, nodding his head. I started humming to myself again to break the silence as we walked back. Race headed back to Manhattan, promising to look out for his sister. When we reached our destination, I showed him his bunk and handed him a pillow and blanket. He threw his things up on the bunk, jumped up after it, and quickly fell asleep. I crawled into my bed and curled up, my dreams filled with a girl whose name I didn't even know.

* * *

Early the next morning, I was woken up by a loud voice yelling something in Spanish. Startled, I jumped up in my bed, hitting my head on the bunk above me. Tajo, the person occupying that bunk, rolled over and fell off the bunk onto the floor with a sharp cry of pain. We looked at each other, rubbing our heads where we had hit them. Tajo hauled himself up and walked over to Castel, giving him a sharp jab to the side to wake him up. He sat up right away and looked around. Tajo started talking to him in rapid Spanish.  
Shaking my head, I headed into the toilets to wash up before everyone else came in.  
"Dat kid is more like a rooster den a person," Tajo muttered, coming over to the sink next to mine.  
"Maybe dat's what we'll call him if he stays," I muttered back. "Wit him around, we ain't eva gonna sleep in."  
Tajo smirked at me. "Da great Spot Conlon sleeping in?"  
"Oh shut it, Mr. Schoolboy." I smirked back, throwing some shaving cream at him. He scraped it off his face and threw it back at me.  
Later that day, I took Castel over to Manhattan, bringing Tajo with me in case I needed a translator. Castel ran his mouth the entire way, speaking non-stop Spanish in Tajo's ear. By the time we had gotten halfway across the bridge, Tajo looked ready to kill the other boy. I smiled at him and leaned in. "Maybe we's should call him Magpie 'stead of Rooster."  
Tajo laughed at that. Castel stopped mid-sentence and looked at us. He looked at Tajo and asked something, who just shook his head in response. When we reached the Manhattan Newsie Lodging House, it was empty except for Jack and Race. They looked at us as we entered.  
"Conlon." Jack nodded at me.  
"Cowboy." I nodded back, spitting in my hand and holding it out. Jack copied me as Race turned to the other two boys and started talking to them. I quickly filled Jack in on the previous night's events. "So can he stay here till he finds his sister?"  
Jack studied the tall, black-haired boy for a long time. I was starting to think Jack would say no and that we'd have to deal with another early-morning wake up when Jack nodded his head. I sighed in relief. "Oh, youse might want ta know somethin. He makes a lotta noise in da mornin. Real early. And he don't stop talkin. Tajo suggested callin 'im Rooster. Ise think Magpie suits him better." Jack laughed as Tajo and I walked out of the building and into the streets. As we slowly-and quietly-walked back, I kept my eyes opened for any sign of the mysterious girl from the night before. Tajo picked up on what I was doing and started teasing me at once.  
"Spot, youse didn't tell me youse had a goirl." He lightly smacked my shoulder.  
I hit him back with my hat. "I don't got a goirl. Ise lookin for Rooster's sista."  
"Youse know wat she looks like?"  
"Dey're twins. Dey must look like each other," I pointed out.  
"Wat's her name?" Tajo grinned cheekily at me, dodging just out of my reach.  
"Don't know her name. And she ain't my goirl."  
Spotty and Mystery, sittin in a tree…" I shook my head and kept looking, still hoping to at least catch a glimpse of her to make sure she was okay.

* * *

_****__Es que usted?-Is that you?_

_****__Lo siento, no hablo Ingles.-__I'm sorry, I don't speak English._

_**If you need any translations from the last chapter, hermano means brother, hermana means sister, and mis hijos means my children. (Google Translate is very useful...)**_

_**P.S.-Panda Bear, I've decided to use your idea of calling Castel Rooster, so you get credit for that. Thanks for the idea! You rock.**_


	4. Flute Players and Medda-Race

_**Panda Bear-That does kind of sound like the name of a band. Maybe we should get together and form a flute duo and call ourselves Magpie Rooster. Then when people ask how we got the name we can just laugh. Yes, it was Spot. Racetrack would do something like that, but the plot bunnies that are helping me with the story told me it had to be Spot or they would do terrible things to me. Although he was kind of glad not to listen to Castel's talking. I think Spot will secretly miss it though. And I think it might be nice to have a nice female for Castel. In fact, I was on the bus this morning thinking about that and I have the perfect character in mind. She appears in this chapter, so I hope you like her.**_

_**Tif S-I'm not sure what kind of trouble Castel will cause the 'Hatten boys yet, but I can't wait to see it either. I think it'll be funny.**_

_**Disclaimer-Don't own newsies yet. Never have, never will. I will always own my own characters though. (Lenmana, Castel, and Maggie.)**_

_**Oh, and this chapter is Race's point of view.**_

As soon as Spot and Tajo left, I dragged Castel out to find his sister. We headed out through the streets of Manhattan after stopping to buy a few papers to sell. Jack had told me Spot said Castel was louder than a rooster in the morning and talked more than a magpie, and I could soon see what he meant. He chattered non-stop in Spanish all morning and the only way to shut him up was shove food into his open mouth. Unfortunately, the food didn't last long enough and I wasn't sure knocking him out was a good idea. By mid-afternoon I had heard more than I cared to about his sister and was starting to lose what little patience I had left.  
"Do you ever stop talking?" I finally snapped in Italian. I felt bad right away, since I was the only person he knew that he could talk to, but he just laughed.  
"Just at meals or when Lenmana is talking. Papa says my mouth will get me in trouble one day but Mama says I'll just talk myself out of it when that happens." He kept chattering about his sister, saying she wanted to be a flute player at a theatre owned by a lady whose name he couldn't remember.  
"What theatre?"  
"Can't remember. All I remember is that some lady owns it and has real bands play there." I thought hard about it before remembering only one place around here was starting to let real bands play.  
"Medda's!" I yelled happily. Medda's theatre was one of the places in Manhattan I loved most, besides Sheepshead Races and the lodging house. "Let's go!" I grabbed his arm and took off at a run, Castel yelling up a storm the whole time.  
When we reached Medda's, there was a jazz band on stage that was just finishing. I sat Castel down and told him to stay as I went backstage. The band was walking off-stage just then and I grabbed the flute player, Maggie. Maggie was Tajo's sister that lived in Manhattan with their two younger siblings and supported them by playing her flute. Tajo helped out by selling papes, but Maggie made most of the money for them. She also talked as much as Castel, if not more.  
"Racetrack!" she cried when she saw me. That was all it took to get her started. She gave me a quick hug before pulling back to talk. "When did you come in? Did you see me play? I finally got a solo! Oh my goodness, it was such fun! Well, it was a lot of hard work, that's what it was. But it was such a thrill to finally play in front of a crowd. Oh, my heart is just pumping so fast-"  
"Magpie!" I cut her off fast-like, hoping to stop the torrent of words so I could explain the situation to her. "Ise need a favor. Ise got a boy-"  
"Well why didn'tja just say so? Now where is he?" She didn't stop talking as I pulled her over to Castel. "Well aren't you just the cutest thing? Racetrack, isn't he just the cutest thing? You should have told me you brought him. My solo could have been so much better if I had known. I understand you need some help. What seems to be the problem, sweetie?"  
Castel had looked up as we approached. He seemed quite taken with Maggie-who really was rather pretty, what with her Spanish features and long curly hair hanging down her back. Halfway through her speech though, he looked at me in confusion before looking back at her. He did this several more times and it was so comical I started laughing.  
"Really Racetrack, where are your manners? The poor boy has no idea what's going on and here you are just laughing at him. Don't mind him dear, I'm working on teaching him manners. I haven't gotten very far, as you can tell, but I'll keep working on him."  
"Magpie," I choked out. "He speaks Spanish."  
She didn't hear me and just kept talking. "You seem well-mannered enough though. I suppose you come from higher society than Race. Never mind that though. You never told me what the problem is. Are you looking to join a band?"  
I managed to control myself enough to hunt down some food. I could only find some leftover liquorice whips, but they were Maggie's favorite and they would quiet her down for several minutes. Running back to the table, I managed to stuff one in her mouth just as she opened it to speak. She immediately began chewing and I took the opportunity to tell her what she needed to know.  
"This is Castel, but we's call him Rooster. He don't speak English, only Spanish. He got separated from his sister last night and thinks she came to 'Hattan. She plays flute like you and Rooster thinks she might have come here to get a job. Anybody come in lately lookin for a job?"  
Maggie swallowed her food and shook her head. "I haven't heard of anyone, but let me check with Medda. Maybe I'll bring…What did you say his name was?"  
"Castel. His name's Castel but we call him Rooster. Well, not us, but Brooklyn does so that's what we're callin him."  
"Belonging to a castle," Maggie murmured to herself. "He certainly looks as if he belongs in one. I'll bring Castel with me and ask around." She grabbed his arm and dragged him off, now talking a mile a minute in Spanish. I watched them go; amused at the pair and wondering who I should feel sorrier for. A tap on my shoulder made me spin around to see Medda.  
"Medda!" I gave her a quick hug before pulling back. "Magpie just went looking for you."  
Medda smiled. "I hope it wasn't about a raise. That girl has been talking my ear off for a whole month about getting a raise. She can talk the ears off a piece of corn."  
I nodded in agreement. "Right now she's with a boy talking his ear off. He's lookin for his sister." I filled Medda in on Castel's situation as she shook her head sympathy sympathetically.  
"What does she look like?"  
I stopped short at the question. Castel had talked so much about her, but somehow I had missed his description of her. I must have been tuning him out at the time. I shrugged, feeling bad that I hadn't been paying more attention. "I'm not sure I caught a description. I think he said her name was Lenmana? Or Catchin?" Medda laughed at my attempts to pronounce the names. "Something not in a speak-able language."  
"I will talk to Maggie after and see what I can find out."  
A small figure clutching something in her hands poked her head from behind Medda and caught my eye. She smiled and looked at me with curiosity in her dark eyes. I tilted my head to the side and she mimicked my movement, her long black hair falling over her shoulder almost to the ground. I tilted my head the other side to see if she would copy me. She did, still smiling. I made a face and she copied me right away. I stuck out my tongue. Again she copied me, this time making her own face as she did so. It was the funniest face I had seen in a long time and I burst out laughing. She let out a quiet giggle as Medda asked me to help her.  
"I don't know anything about her except that she doesn't speak English. I think she might be looking for a job as a flute player, but she didn't understand when I asked her to play. One of the stage hands tried writing in Spanish for her, but she hardly looked at the page before answering. Can you help?"  
I sighed, hoping I wouldn't spend the rest of my life as a translator for people. Looking at her, I started with the basics. "Hola. Como estas?"  
"Bueno. Y tu?"  
"Bueno. Cuál es tu nombre?"  
"Allegra."  
"Racetrack." I studied her, trying to figure out who she reminded me of. She studied me back, shifting her flute case from hand to hand. Finally I shook it off and asked her what she wanted. She told me in rapid Spanish that she ran away from home and was hoping to get a job playing flute. I translated for Medda as quickly as she spoke.  
"Ask her if she can play something for me." I repeated the question for Medda and Allegra quickly pulled out her flute and set it up. She played a few notes to warm up before launching into a fast-paced song that almost had me dancing. Medda nodded her head the whole time and as soon as the girl was finished, offered her a job. Allegra looked so excited her whole face lit up until Medda pulled out some papers for her to sign.  
"Qué hay de malo?" I asked her.  
"What do I need the papers for? I have the job, do I not?"  
"The papers are so you get paid."  
She took the papers and very briefly glanced at them before dropping them on the desk. "I can't read English. Can't you just explain it to me and be done with it?"  
I looked at Medda, who nodded. I grabbed the papers and we slowly read over them. It took a long time because she kept stopping me to ask questions. Medda stayed for a while before telling us to just leave the papers on her desk when we finished. When we finally finished, she grabbed a pencil and scribbled something on the bottom of the page that nobody could read.  
"Welcome to Medda's," I told her, holding out my hand. She stared at it for a minute before shaking it. We stared at each other, still holding hands. Maggie's voice coming towards the door made us jump apart. Allegra ducked behind Medda's desk and didn't reappear.  
"I can't seem to find Medda anywhere. Have you seen her, Race?" Maggie entered the room with Castel in tow. "Maybe she left for the night. Too bad. Come back manana. Maybe your sister got lost and she'll turn up then."  
Castel and I thanked her as we left. Castel was strangely silent on the way back. I didn't mind the quiet, as my mind was still stuck on Allegra. I slept soundly that night, dreaming of her until Castel woke us up with a loud cry the next morning.

_**"Hola. Como estas?"-Hi (Or Hello). How are you?**_  
_**"Bueno. Y tu?"-Good. And you?**_  
_**"Bueno. Cuál es tu nombre?"-Good. What's your name?**_  
_**"Qué hay de malo?"-What's wrong?  
"Lo siento."-I'm sorry.**_

_**Read and review!**_


	5. Finding a Job and a Home-Lenmana

_**Panda Bear-I didn't really have an idea for a song that Lenmana was playing when I wrote the chapter. However, today I was playing my flute at work and thought of a song that we can say she used. Unfortunately, I can't think of the name at this moment and I'm too lazy to go check. It's a tango I think is called La Spangola. Either that or La Cumpersita. (Or something like that. If I remember I'll include the name in the next chapter.) I think Rooster and Maggie make a good pair. Or they will, whenever that happens. There was a reason I had Racetrack not able to translate (a good one), but I decided that it could be explained in a later chapter, so I edited the last chapter a bit. The reason will be explained in later chapters. Anyway, I don't know if it's possible to have two flute players in the jazz band. For the sake of the story, we will say yes, just because. I'm assuming some bands would have two or three. That's cool that you're always on flute. I guess you're the favorite too. You must be good.**_

_**Disclaimer-I don't own Newsies or any characters from it. I also don't own the song or lyrics from A la Nanita. (I'm not entirely sure who owns the lyrics or anything. But whoever it is, it ain't me.)  
**_

I spent my first night away from home sleeping on a statue in front of a building. I had tried to read the sign on the building, but it was in English and the letters kept moving around and making it impossible to read anything anyway. I had been woken up that morning by a group of boys coming out of the building chattering in English. I didn't recognize a single person or understand a single word being said. I spent that day walking around trying to find the theatre I had told Castel about. I finally saw the sign with the picture of the blond lady on it and knew I had found the right place. Finding a job there proved to be a bit more difficult than I had planned, because nobody spoke Spanish or Hopi and I didn't speak English. I had found Medda right away, but we didn't have any way of communication. She tried asking a stage hand to write things down for me, but since I didn't want her to know I had trouble reading, I just looked over the paper before answering. Medda finally motioned for me to follow her as she walked over to a boy just standing there watching a couple walk away. I hid behind Medda until I heard the boy trying to pronounce my Indian name. I poked my head out from behind Medda and smiled, wondering how much he knew. He tilted his head to one side and I decided to play a game and copy his movements, a game Castel and I had played many times as children. He made a few faces before sticking his tongue out. I did that too, making a face as I did so. He laughed and I giggled as Medda asked him something. He sighed and looked at me, asking me questions in Italian. When he asked my name, I told him it was Allegra, not wanting him to know who I was in case Mama or Papa was looking for me. It was going well-I played a tango for them when I was asked to play-until Medda handed me some papers to sign. Not wanting to look the part of a fool, I asked if I could have the papers explained to me. Racetrack-the boy who was helping me-was very patient with me and explained everything. When he held out his hand, I just stared for a moment before shaking it. We didn't move at first, just looking at each other. The moment was interrupted by the sound of a female voice coming. I ducked behind the desk until Racetrack had left. Standing up, I saw that the girl the voice belonged to was still there. She looked startled to see me and said something in English. I shook my head and she switched to Spanish.  
"Hello. I didn't see you there. What were you hiding for?" She kept talking and I just listened. She reminded me of Castel. He would start talking and you would have to put food in his mouth to stop him. She noticed my flute and pointed to it. "Do you play? I play flute too. I've been playing for many years. I've only been at Medda's a few years though. I play to support my brother and sister. Tajo-that's my brother-is a newsie. That's a newsboy. He sells papers and brings us the money. Tajo lives in Brooklyn. My name is Maggie, but people call me Magpie. It's because I talk so much. Everyone says so. Do you think I talk too much? You can tell me to stop."  
"You remind me of my brother," I told her when she finally took a breath. "He talks as much as you do and the only way to stop him is to make him eat or hope he falls asleep."  
"Oh, you have a brother too! We should introduce them. Where is your brother?"  
"I haven't a clue. We ran away from home and got separated."  
"Oh, that's so sad. You know, there was a boy just in here looking for his sister. His story was similar to yours. You even look like him. I told him to come back tomorrow. Wouldn't it be exciting if it was your brother? Come tomorrow as well. I can introduce you. When can you come?"  
"Oh, I work here. Medda just hired me today. I come in at lunch to set up and everything."  
"Wonderful! That's when I come in. Let's walk together tomorrow. Can I walk you home so I know where you live?"  
"I don't have a home. I ran away and don't have anywhere to sleep."  
"Where did you sleep last night?"  
"On a statue."  
Maggie looked at me. "That won't do. You must stay with me tonight. We'll have such fun! We're going to be best friends, I can tell already."  
Maggie held my arm as we walked to her house. She talked the whole long walk to her town home. I learned that she had four brothers and sisters. Tajo was the oldest and Maggie was his twin. Tajo lived in Brooklyn and sold papers. He didn't live with them because of something bad that had happened. Maggie took care of her younger siblings in Manhattan because their parents had died and they didn't have any aunts or uncles to take them in. By the time we had reached Maggie's place, I was almost asleep on my feet. Maggie's siblings took care of that as soon as we walked in the door. They were jumping around the room asking for a story before bed and refused to calm down for anything. I watched from the middle of the room as she chased them down, trying to get them into bed. It was a comical sight to be sure, but Maggie soon looked like she was getting tired out. Thinking of a trick Mama and Papa sometimes used on Castel and I at that age, I sat in the middle of the room and started singing a soft Spanish lullaby.  
_"A la nanita nana, nanita ella, nanita ella._  
_Mi nina tiene sueno, bendito sea, bendito sea._  
_A la nanita nana, nanita ella, nanita ella._  
_Mi nina tiene sueno, bendito sea, bendito sea."_  
I kept singing as all four children came and sat around me. I sang the whole song twice and by the end of the second time, almost everyone in the room was asleep. I helped Maggie carry everyone to bed. She thanked me many times as we climbed into the bed we would be sharing that night. I was grateful to be sleeping in a nice, warm bed that night instead of a cold, hard statue. I was also grateful for the new friend I had made. As I fell asleep, I dreamed of finally playing my flute on stage, my brother and new friend watching in the audience.

_**Hope you enjoyed! Hit the review button please? It's feeling lonely...**_


	6. Reunions, Surprises, and Flute Playing

_**Panda Bear-I noticed you're a bit of a chatterbox. If only your name was Maggie and you were Spanish...(Haha...) Anyway, nothing wrong with rambling on sometimes. I think it's pronounced Tah-Ho. I'm pretty sure in Spanish J's sound like H's and the H's are silent. (I could be wrong, but I'm sure Tajo would forgive you if you mispronounced it...) I'm not entirely sure if Lenmana will see Race in a new light or not. I only have the basic outline for this story and even then I'm making a lot of it up as I go. But this is your story so if you want them together, it can be arranged. When I started I wasn't sure if I wanted any romance, but now that I've gotten this far, I kinda got used to the idea of Race and Lenmana together and kinda like it. I've been playing flute for 10 1/2 years. I don't think I've picked up the piccolo but it would be fun. (Good luck!) I have picked up several other instruments though, the most recent being the viola. Well, enough rambling. Enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer-I own nothing except Lenmana, Castel, Maggie, and Tajo.**_

_**So before you read on, this chapter switches points of view. The first is Spot, second is Race, third is Allegra (or Lenmana). And this story is post-strike, in case anyone was wondering.**_

The day after bring Castel to Manhatten, I decided to see how the 'Hattan newsies were dealing with him. Tajo came along, wanting to visit his sister Maggie. We talked on the way there about different things, mostly trivial things such as the headlines or weather. Finally Tajo turned to me and asked "Who is she?"  
"Who is who?" I asked back, knowing who he meant but not wanting to share just yet.  
"Da goirl. Youse was lookin for one yesterday."  
"Ise told ya-"  
"Youse told me a pile of bull poo. Ise know youse wasn't lookin for anybody's sista."  
"Yes Ise was."  
"Spot Conlon, don't youse lie ta me! I'm your second and Ise knows ya better den youse know yourself. Talk ta me before Ise pull it outta ya!"  
I ran a hand through my hair, deciding how much I wanted to share. Tajo waited patiently for me to start talking. Opening my mouth, I told him the whole story of the girl I had saved from the Delanceys. He listened the whole time, looking at me intently.  
"And now youse fancy yourself in love wit her?" he asked when I finally finished my tale.  
"Wat? No! Ise just was wonderin how she was doin."  
"Bull poo."  
"Ise neva got a good look at her face."  
"Who said youse needed ta see her face?"  
I was stumped at that. I kept walking, hoping Tajo would drop it.  
"Well?"  
No such luck. "Alright already. Ise don't need ta see her face."  
"So youse do fancy yourself in love wit her?" He looked at me again as we kept walking.  
"No. She was a pretty goirl dat was alone-"  
"If youse didn't get a good look at her face, how do youse know if she was pretty?"  
I kicked myself for not thinking before I spoke. "She was under a streetlight. Ise could see her face briefly before she ran away."  
"So da great Spot Conlon is finally in love. Ise thought it would neva happen." Tajo smirked at me as we walked into the Manhattan Lodging house to see several newsies on the floor and Castel sitting up on his bunk, a sheepish look on his face. He was saying something in Spanish over and over again until Racetrack picked himself off the floor and threw a pillow at him, muttering something in Italian. I assumed he had told Rooster to shut up, seeing as how he stopped talking and climbed out of bed. Seeing Tajo and I, he came over and started talking in Spanish to Tajo. Tajo groaned softly to himself but politely listened. I walked away and found Jack.  
"Heya Spot," he said, rubbing a spot on his arm. "Ise see wat ya meant 'bout the wake-up. Ise don't think even Kloppman wakes up dis early."  
I laughed and changed the subject. "So did he find his sista?"  
"Racetrack told me dey tried yesterday, but found nothin. Ise think dey're goin back ta Medda's today. I hoird she plays flute real good."  
Thanking Jack, I returned to Tajo and Rooster, hoping we could go to Medda's.

* * *

Rooster's early morning cry woke everybody up earlier than should be legal. I rolled out of bed and smacked my head on the floor. Lying there, I heard several other bodies thumping as they also fell out of bed and landed on the floor. From above me, I could hear the boy saying sorry over and over again.  
"Lo siento. Lo siento. No quería! Lo siento!"  
I picked myself off the floor and threw my pillow at him. "Zitto!" I muttered, not wanting to hear how sorry he was. After washing up and getting ready for the day, I decided to go with a group over to Medda's. Included in our group was Tajo, Spot, Rooster, several of the newsies, and myself. Rooster kept up a steady stream of chatter the whole time and after getting tired of listening to him, the rest of the group started laughing and joking with each other. I mostly walked in silence, thinking about the girl I had met yesterday. I turned her name over in my mind. Allegra. I quietly started humming the song she had played to myself. If anyone noticed, they didn't say anything. I kept humming till we arrived at Medda's, which was a mess of sounds.  
"Tajo!" Tajo's sister Maggie ran up to the group and gave him a hug. She pulled a small girl over and introduced her. "I want you to meet my new friend Allegra. She's the newest flute player in the group and she's very good. She also has a wooden flute from her mother. Allegra's part Native American you know."  
I tuned Maggie out, studying Allegra. Her hair was shorter than yesterday, as if she had cut it. I gave her a small wave and she smiled back, making a face. I laughed softly to myself. She had a lot of spirit. Giving me one last smile, she turned back to the group and gasped.  
"Castel!" Allegra jumped at Rooster and hugged him so tight I was surprised he could still breathe. He hugged her back just as tightly, the pair both speaking rapidly to each other. It sounded like a mix of Spanish and some other language. Everyone was looking at them in surprise. Spot looked like someone had hit him over the head with something very hard.  
"He…he…dat…youse…brudder?" I sputtered out in Italian.  
Rooster turned to me. "This is my sister that I was talking about yesterday."  
"B-b-but…youse…loud…her…quiet…related…" I continued to sputter incoherently, only hoping I made enough sense to be understood. The brother and sister seemed to understand what I was saying and nodded.  
"It's hard to believe, isn't it?"  
Allegra looked happy, dancing around her brother and hugging him every few seconds. Twirling around, she nearly bumped into Spot and stopped short. He looked at her, studying her face and looking almost like he wanted to kiss her. Without understanding why, a flicker of jealousy made its way through my heart.

* * *

I was so happy to have finally found Castel. As soon as we had hugged, he pulled back and looked at my hair.  
"Na-Na, you cut your hair!" he said.  
I nodded. I had cut it short that morning. Mama would never let me cut my hair and Papa didn't care, so it had always been long. I hoped that cutting it would disguise me if Mama or Papa ever came looking. Castel nodded his head at my explanation.  
"He…he…dat…youse…brudder?" I heard Racetrack sputtering in the background. Castel turned to him and started talking. I started dancing around and hugging Castel. Twirling, I came face to face with the boy that had come to my rescue a few nights ago. He had an odd expression on his face. I stopped and started at him, not sure what to say. We just looked at each other, until a Spanish boy standing next to him shoved the boy closer to me.  
"This is Spot," the Spanish boy said. "Cuál es tu nombre?"  
"Allegra."  
"I'm Tajo."  
I nodded, still staring at Spot. He was studying my face so intently, I felt nervous. He swallowed and reached for my face. Tajo backed away and turned to Maggie. I felt awkward being alone with Spot, so I shuffled my feet and played with the flute I held in my hand. He motioned to it, wondering if I would play it. I nodded and put it to my lips, playing the lullaby I had sung last night at Maggie's. The group fell silent, listening to me. I ignored everything, happy to finally be living my dream.

_**Translations**_

_**Lo siento.-I'm sorry.**_

_**No quería!-I didn't mean to!**_

_**Zitto!-Shut up! (That's Italian, not Spanish.)**_

**_The review button is very lonely with only one person reviewing. Pretty please review and tell me what you think?_**


	7. First Kisses and Broken Hearts

_**Panda Bear-Don't feel childish! When I read about how you were madly giggling it made me smile AND made my day! I like the expression and I put it in hoping people would find it funny. I don't swear (as I'm guessing you have figured out by now) so it's always fun coming up with expressions to replace the ones I don't use. Yes, Rooster and Allegra are reunited. No waiting for years in this story. And yes, I think Spot may have the hots for Allegra. But you'll have to read this chapter to find out for sure! I'm not in college at the moment, but I am in that age group and I have done a year of college. I started flute when I was young though. (I started piano even younger...like when I started public school...almost 20 years now. Which means more than half my life, which is both cool and scary at the same time...) Don't feel small! You'll grow and before you know it you'll be saying you've been playing flute that long and making someone else feel small. And I love your long reviews! Please don't write shorter ones. The long ones make my day.**_

_**Quick disclaimer, I still don't own Newsies but I do own Lenmana/Allegra, Castel/Rooster, Tajo, and Maggie/Magpie. (I think that's all I own... basically if you recognize it from Disney I don't own it...)**_

I hung back in the group, studying Allegra. She looked like the girl from a few nights ago. I wasn't lying to Tajo, though. I really hadn't gotten a good look at her face. I had seen a glimpse of it though, and that glimpse was enough to convince me that if Allegra had longer hair, she could be the girl. I made a mental note to ask Rooster about his sister and see if her name was Lenmana or Allegra. At the moment, Allegra was twirling around. She almost bumped into me and stopped, seeming to recognize me. We just stood there, staring at each other. I couldn't move. She was very pretty and it left me feeling a bit breathless. Finally Tajo, who was standing next to me, gave me a shove and told her something in Spanish. She responded with her name and I guessed Tajo had asked her name to start a conversation. He told her something else before backing away. I reached my hand out to her face, not really sure why I was doing that. She looked nervous, shuffling her feet and playing with the flute she held in her hands. I motioned to it, hoping she would play. She nodded and put it to her lips, playing a beautiful song. I had no idea what song she was playing, but it sounded almost like a lullaby. Everyone fell silent as she played. When she finished, everyone clapped and she flushed, taking a small bow before hiding behind Rooster. I caught Race's eye in an attempt to catch Allegra's eye. He didn't look happy for some reason. He was glaring at me as if he were jealous, though I didn't have a clue as to why. I spent the rest of my day selling papes, avoiding Race, and thinking constantly of Allegra.

Later that night, I went back to Medda's to watch Allegra's final performance of the day. I wanted to ask her if she had been the girl by the bridge the other night and maybe see if she would like to see a flicker with me some time. Allegra was playing in the jazz band that Tajo's sister Maggie played in. I watched from the back of the room, having spotted Rooster and Race near the front. I'd rather not have my face rearranged by Race before I got to ask Allegra on a date. I hated to admit it, but Tajo had been right. Or at least partly right. I didn't fancy myself _in love _with her, but I did fancy her and I had admitted as much to Tajo that afternoon while selling papes near the bridge. He had just smirked and said he told me so. The sounds of the band finishing their song brought me back to the present. I went backstage quickly to wait for Allegra and Maggie. They came offstage together, talking in Spanish. I waved them over, growing excited for the night. I was about to ask Maggie if she could ask Allegra my question when Race came over and started talking with Allegra, Rooster and Tajo close behind.

* * *

I saw Spot waving to us and pointed him out to Maggie. She smirked, a smug look on her face. I looked at her, not sure why she was smirking and wondering if I should be worried.  
"Is there something you're not telling me?" I asked her. "Why are you smirking at me?"  
"Oh, no reason. Better get over to lover boy there."  
"Lover boy? What is that? Who is lover boy?"  
Maggie gave an amused shake of her head before explaining what she meant as we walked over to Spot. He looked ready to ask a question when Race came over and told us what a good job we had done.  
"Ally, sei stato grande," he told me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Do you mind if I call you Ally?"  
I shook my head, feeling heat rising on my cheeks. I generally didn't like nicknames, but for some reason I didn't mind it coming from Racetrack "It sounds nice when you say it."  
"Mr. Higgins," Maggie interrupted. I looked at Racetrack, curious and amused. His last name was Higgins? "I believe Mr. Conlon wanted to ask the hermoso Ally a question. Would you excuse us for just un momento, por favor?" Maggie dragged me away without waiting for an answer. She started talking to him in English before we even reached him. He kept trying to say something, but Maggie didn't let him speak. Finally I took a piece of liquorish and put in her mouth, which shut her up for a moment. Spot took advantage of her chewing to ask a question with a laugh in his voice. Maggie turned to me and started talking, food still in her mouth. "Spot wants to know if you'd like to see a flicker with him and how you knew to give me liquorish. Please tell him you'd like to see a flicker. I want a reason to ask that hermano of yours to see a flicker with me. Plus I can translate for you. Please?"  
I shook my head at first, not sure I wanted to go. But Maggie kept pleading and I finally said yes, thinking how much fun it would be to see who could talk more between Rooster and Maggie. Almost as soon as I had said yes, I felt bad, though I wasn't sure why. It almost felt like I was hurting someone. I turned around and saw Racetrack looking at me, a sad expression on his face. The feeling that I was hurting someone grew even more at the sight of Racetrack's face. Could it be possible that I liked both Racetrack and Spot, I wondered to myself. I shook the thought out of my head and started putting my flute away.

Spot joined Maggie and I for our walk home. We spent the better part of the walk trying to teach him some Spanish so he wouldn't have to depend on others to translate for him. He caught on fairly quickly to most of it and when he got a phrase right, he looked so pleased it was comical. Near the end of our walk, he turned serious and looked at Maggie. He motioned to me a few times as he talked to her in English and I could only wonder what he was asking this time. I walked along as they talked, enjoying the starry night sky. It was a rare night when you could see stars in the city and the beauty of it always made me wish I could write a song about it. I was brought back to earth by Spot's hand in mine. Looking at him, I suddenly realized we had reached Maggie's place and Maggie had disappeared. I assumed she had gone in to tend to her siblings, which left me alone with Spot. I gulped loudly, realizing I was alone with the boy that had saved me. The boy I think I was maybe falling for. Or maybe I just felt I owed him something for saving me from those boys.  
"Eres hermosa," he told me. I didn't respond, trying to remember when Maggie and I had taught him that. The next thing I knew, he was leaning in and kissing me. His lips were soft and warm. I could taste the liquorish he had eaten at Medda's on his breath. It was beautiful and sweet and everything I had imagined my first kiss would be like. Pulling apart after several long seconds, we just looked at each other. A movement behind Spot caught my eye and broke the spell. I could see a figure moving out of the shadows and squinted, trying to make out who it was.  
"Racetrack!" I whispered to myself, finally making out the shadowy form. He looked so sad it broke my heart and I spun around, running inside with tears filling my eyes.

* * *

I watched from the shadows as Spot grabbed her hand and told her she was beautiful. Jealousy raged inside of me and I felt like punching something. Or someone. I glared at Spot from my hiding place, wishing looks could kill. Suddenly they were kissing and I couldn't help myself. I stumbled out of my spot and moved out of the shadows into the light of the streetlamps. I saw Allegra look right at me. I looked at her, unable to hide my feelings. She could apparently make them out on my face, because she whispered what sounded like my name before spinning around and running inside, although not before I made out tears in her eyes. Spot looked confused, standing there calling after her and asking what was wrong. I slipped away from the scene before Spot could see me and made my way back to the LH. As soon as I got there, I fell into bed without even bothering to undress and buried my face in my pillow. I held my tears in as long as possible and when I couldn't hold them in any longer, they came out in a flood and I cried myself to sleep.

_**Translations-**_

_**"Ally, sei stato grande."-Ally, you were great. (Italian)**_

_**hermoso-beautiful**_

_**un momento, por favor-one moment please**_

_**Eres hermosa-you are beautiful**_

_**So point of view in order goes Spot, Lenmana, and Race, if anyone wondered. Now go make friends with that lovely review button! It needs more friends.**_


	8. Fights-Race and Lenmana

_**Panda Bear-No! Don't cry! Racetrack's heart won't be broken for long! (As least, I don't think so...) At any rate, I'll have it fixed at some point. Spot did that because he's Spot. He's also the King of Brooklyn and does what he wants to do. I think he needs a good talking to. They do talk in this chapter, but you'll have to read it to see how it goes. It does seem like a bad idea but I do kind of like the idea of the fight and having to make up to save Ally. I have some general ideas of what I want to happen in the story, so I think something along those lines will happen. I'll get it all figured out eventually...(P.S. it's wails...the other way is talking about the fish in the ocean. Or are whales mammals? I don't remember...)**_

_**I own nothing! Or next to nothing anyway. I own anything you don't remember seeing in the movie.**_

I woke up early the next morning, before even Rooster was awake. I didn't bother trying to fall back asleep, knowing I would keep seeing Allegra and Spot kissing every time my eyes closed. I lay in bed a few minutes before quietly getting up and heading out for the day. It was too early to buy any papes, so I went to my favorite thinking spot in Central Park. Reaching a secluded part of the park that had a stand of trees growing in a cluster, I climbed one near the center and stopped about halfway up. I watched the sun come up through the branches before climbing back down and heading off to the distribution center. It was still early when I arrived, which meant the center was still empty. That was fine by me, as I could grab my papes and get out before any of my friends came. I walked to Sheepshead Bay, hoping to watch a few races as I sold my papes.  
"Racetrack!" Spot's voice broke into my thoughts and stopped me in my tracks. I glared at him as he ran up. "Can Ise ask youse a question?"  
"Wat?" I asked sharply, not in the mood to talk with him at the moment. If he noticed, he didn't say anything.  
"Can youse help me wit Allegra? Ise think Ise upset her last night but Ise don't know wat Ise did wrong."  
"No," I told him bluntly before pushing past and continuing on my way. I didn't bother turning around or answering Spot when he called for me to come back.  
"Antonio Alessandro Higgins!" The use of my full name stopped me. Nobody called me that except my grandmother and some of the newsies when they were mad and wanted to make me mad. Spot was the only Brooklyn who knew my name and how mad it made me. It would have made me furious if I wasn't already mad at him for kissing Ally last night. Throwing my papers on the ground, I turned around and threw myself at Spot, hitting every part of him I could. He was so taken by surprise he didn't fight back at first. I took advantage of that, hitting as hard and as fast as I could. Someone's hands grabbed my arms and tried to pull me off. It was the sound of a female voice that finally allowed me to be pulled off of Spot. I stood up, still glaring at him. A soft, cold hand slipping into mine drew my attention away from Spot. Ally stood there, looking scared but worried at the same time. She held my papers in her other hand, offering them to me. Tajo and Maggie were helping Spot up, looking at us curiously. I wiped a trickle of blood off my cheek, wincing slightly.  
"What happened?" Tajo asked.  
"Ise don't know," Spot told him. "Ise just asked if he could help me. When he started walking away Ise called him back and he started soakin me."  
"Bull poo!" I yelled.  
"Dat's da truth and youse know it!" Spot yelled back.  
"Is not!"  
"Stop it, both of you!" Maggie yelled at both of us. We were both so shocked we shut up right away, sulking and avoiding her eyes. "What really happened?"  
Spot said nothing, wiping away the blood coming out of his nose. Ally went over and started helping him clean up. I glared at them, not sure why I was so angry at the thought of them as a couple. Maggie looked at me for an answer. I squirmed because it almost felt like she was looking into my soul or something. I shrugged, hoping that would get me off. Ally turned her eyes on me, pleading with me to tell what happened.  
"Ise don't know," I finally muttered. "He asked me ta help him wit Ally and…Ise just snapped. Den he called me Antonio and Ise lost it."  
"Antonio?" I felt my mouth turn up slightly at the corner as Ally let out a little giggle.  
"Mama's idea," I told her. She nodded, still looking amused.  
"I still don't quite understand. Spot was asking you for help?" We both nodded. "But you said no and walked away?" We nodded again. "Is that when we came in?"  
"Well, Ise did call him Alessandro ta make him mad," Spot admitted. "But Ise still don't know why he started soakin me."  
"Ise saw youse last night." I challenged Spot with my eyes. He just looked confused. "Kissin." Understanding dawned in Spot's eyes.  
"Ahh." Maggie looked like she had figured out a difficult riddle. "So you both like her."  
Spot nodded his agreement, but I denied anything of the sort. I wasn't sure what feelings I had about Allegra, but it wasn't anything more than friendship. Maggie just nodded her head, not seeming to believe me.  
"You'll figure it out in your own time, I suppose. No sense in makin ya admit it any sooner." She turned to Allegra and explained something to her in Spanish. Tajo drew Spot and I aside.  
"Ise don't know wat got inta youse, but youse better solve da problem quick-like or Allegra ain't gonna stick around." Tajo glared at both of us as we nodded. He walked off, still watching us.  
I turned to Spot. "If youse wat Ally ta be your goirl, fine. Just don't do dat kissin stuff in front of me. Ise don't wat ta hear bout da two of youse neither. And if youse hoirt her…" I left Spot with that threat, hoping I wouldn't have to follow through with it.

* * *

Last night I had cried in my sleep. I had tried my hardest not to cry myself to sleep, but Maggie had asked if I was feeling all right that morning, so I must have failed. I was surprised when that afternoon she told me the boys had been fighting over me, having thought that after the events of last night neither boy would want to talk to me. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be flattered or upset. I settled for the latter, catching Racetrack before he walked away and blasting him in Spanish. He didn't interrupt or anything, just stood there looking contrite.  
"Mi dispiace davvero. Ti prego perdonami," he told me as he walked me home from Medda's that night. He looked so apologetic, holding flowers in one hand and wiping smeared chocolate off his face with the other that I had to forgive him. In truth, I had forgiven him on the spot. I just didn't want him getting off so easy.  
"Te perdono." We walked along in silence, enjoying each other's company. He stopped me at the corner of Maggie's street, looking at my face. I studied his face, taking in every detail.  
"Last night. Did…did you…you know…with Spot?"  
"Did I what with Spot last night?" I had no idea what he was trying to ask.  
"I saw you two kissing," he blurted out.  
"He kissed me first."  
"Did you like it?"  
"Yes, I suppose so. I've never been kissed before."  
"You only suppose you enjoyed it?"  
"What does that mean?" I was starting to get angry. What was Race hinting at?  
"You looked like you enjoyed it very much."  
"Why do you care so much?"  
"I don't care! I was only asking."  
"For someone who was only wondering, you seem to care an awful lot!" By that point we had started yelling and were attracting attention from passers-by. Neither of us really cared, as we were yelling in our first languages and everyone around didn't seem to understand a word.  
"I thought we were friends. That gives me a right to care!"  
"Since when?" I asked, challenging him. "I have a brother to do that for me."  
He rose to the challenge. "Since I helped you get a job!"  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
"Well…" He looked slightly stumped, scratching his head and searching for an answer. "Well it means you owe me."  
"Owe you? For what, getting me a job I could have gotten on my own?"  
Racetrack looked so outraged that I had to laugh in his face. "You never would have gotten that job without me to translate for you!"  
"I could have waited for Maggie to come back! If I had, she would have helped me get the job."  
"I…no way…you…possible…Maggie…OH!" He threw his hands in the air in frustration. "You frustrate me!"  
"You infuriate me!" We stood there glaring at each other, daring the other to make the first move. Papa said I had a stubborn streak wider than the ocean and this time it paid off. Race blinked first and sighed.  
"I saw you…after you kissed him. Why were you crying?"  
"You." I whispered the word, forcing him to lean closer to hear it.  
"What?"  
"You. I saw you last night. You looked so sad, like your heart was breaking. It made me sad that you would feel like that."  
He leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest and a half-smile on his face. I folded my arms across my chest, which didn't work so well with my flute case in my hand. A smirk crossed his face.  
"What is it, Antonio?" I wasn't sure if this would make him angry, but to my delight, he just shook his head and laughed.  
"My full name is Antonio Alessandro Higgins, but only my grandmother calls me that. The other newsies only call me that to make me mad. Or when I make them mad."  
"Antonio, as in Antonio Vivaldi?"  
"Who?"  
I shook my head. "Never mind. I had best be going in before Maggie comes looking." I hugged Race quickly and gave him a peck on the cheek before thrusting a piece of paper in his hand and running inside. That night, I dreamed of dancing on a stage to the sound of a flute, the only people in the audience my family and my new friends.

_**Translations**_

_**Mi dispiace davvero.-I really am sorry. (Italian)**_

_**Ti prego perdonami.-Please forgive me. (Italian)**_  
_**"Te perdono."-You're forgiven. (Spanish)**_

_**Please hit the review button. It's getting lonely with only one reviewer and they really do make my day.**_


	9. Talking Things Out

_**Panda Bear-I didn't know that. That's really funny. Weird, but still funny. I figured that it would be helpful to put the language in case people tried to translate it. Yeah, Racetrack is assertive much. Then again, he was losing an argument to a girl, so he had to say something to same himself. (Although I think he still kinda lost...) He does need to calm down about that if he wants to win her over, but he doesn't know he likes her the way we think he does. He's a little slow about that, so he still needs to figure it out before he can work on that. That's cool that your band is playing! It sucks that they cut your solo though. You should go in and tell them what a load of bull poo that is. And no problem, although I'm curious. How were you acting like a whale? I have this image in my mind of you acting like Dory from Finding Nemo when she was trying to speak whale and Marlin was telling her she couldn't speak whale. Is that what you were doing? Because that would be really funny.**_

_**So yeah, I still don't own anything you recognize from the movie. I do own all my OC's and all their family members.**_

The day after my fight with Racetrack, I went searching for Allegra. I had seen her with Maggie and Tajo, but didn't have a chance to talk to her alone. I wanted to ask her how she felt about the kiss in private. As luck would have it, when I finally found her she was eating lunch at Tibby's with Rooster, Maggie, and Tajo. Well, eating was what they were intending on doing. Maggie had brought her and Tajo's younger siblings and they were keeping Allegra pretty busy with different activities. 5-year-old Ariana was demanding a song from Allegra, 8-year-old Caelyn wanted a story, 12-year-old Boyden wanted to shoot marbles, and Boyden's twin Darien just wanted to eat. Allegra managed to come up with an idea to keep them all happy. She told the girls a story that had several songs in it while shooting marbles with Boyden and found a piece of bread for Darien to eat. I had no idea how she did it, but it amazed me. When I joined them, the older kids were talking about what to do with the younger ones for the day, since it was a Saturday and there was no school to keep them busy.  
"Wat about going ta da park for a picnic?" I asked.  
"That's not a bad idea, but who will take them?" Maggie asked. "Ally and I have to play today and Tajo needs to sell papers."  
"Wat about Rooster?"  
"He said he had something to do today. He won't say what though."  
After several minutes of thinking, Allegra finally said she would bring the kids with her. Apparently she had an idea for keeping the younger ones busy while her and Maggie had to play. As they finished their food, I asked Maggie if she would mind walking with me and Allegra so we could talk.  
Maggie frowned at me. "You should really learn more Spanish. I don't mind, but then you could talk to her on your own. I'm trying to teach her some English."  
I was surprised. "Trying?"  
"Yes. It's harder than I thought because she has lots of trouble with words. I suspect she has a learning problem that prevents her from learning very well."  
"Oh."  
"I'll keep trying, but you should think about learning Spanish."  
I made a vague comment, too busy watching Ally to be paying full attention.

On the walk over to Medda's, Ally was still keeping the young ones busy. Maggie had to pull her away, telling her that they could run ahead for a while. Reluctantly she fell back with us, her eyes still on the kids.  
"Why was you cryin da other night?" was my first question. She looked confused, so I explained. "When we kissed, youse started cryin. Why?"  
"She says it's something she can't explain but it has nothing to do with you," Maggie translated. "It's something between her and another person she doesn't want to name and they don't have it figured out yet, but that when they do she can tell you."  
I hadn't been expecting that. I was thinking that she didn't want to be kissed and that was what had upset her. "So she didn't mind dat Ise kissed her?"  
"No, not at all. In fact, it was her first kiss and she enjoyed it very much."  
Another surprise I wasn't expecting. Ally seemed to be full of surprises today. "Ise take it she neva had a boy before?"  
Maggie shook her head. "Some have shown an interest, but they never got around to asking. She wants to know if you're asking."  
"Yes."  
Maggie turned to Ally, who had somehow gotten ahead of us and was helping the kids solve some sort of argument. Closing her mouth, Maggie ran ahead and pulled Ally back in exasperation, scolding her in rapid Spanish. "Excuse her," she said. "She loves children. I don't know why she likes those rascals, but heaven bless her. She's an angel with them. What was it I was supposed to ask her now?"  
"Would she like ta be my goirl?"  
"Ah yes, the important question." After a brief translation, Maggie turned back to me. "She isn't sure she wants to be your girl, but she would be happy to go on a date and see how it goes. Does that work for you?"  
It wasn't what I was hoping for, but I wasn't about to complain.

* * *

I tried to make sense of Ally's note on the walk home, but the writing made no sense. The letters were mixed up and some were written backwards. I wasn't sure, but from what I could figure she had been upset and sorry about something. That was the only thing I could make of it so I didn't bother to finish it, figuring I could ask Rooster. He took one look at it and started storming out of the Lodging House. Pulling him back, I threw him on a bunk and demanded to know what was wrong.  
"That…that boy kissed my sister and made her cry!"  
"You didn't hear about that?"  
He shook his head. "I need to have a talk with that boy."  
"Don't bother. Everything's been talked over. What does the note say?"  
"She's sorry for letting him kiss her and she never meant to hurt you. She cried herself to sleep because she felt bad for making you feel bad. Is there something you two aren't telling me?"  
I shook my head vigorously. The only thing between me and Ally was friendship. The strange feelings of jealousy had nothing to do with liking Ally as more than a friend. I had almost convinced myself that I was just being protective of her because of her situation, though a small voice in the back of my head kept saying that wasn't the only reason.  
The next day proved uneventful, consisting mostly of selling papes while Rooster kept himself busy. Ally was with Maggie at Medda's all day, playing her flute and taking care of Maggie's siblings. From what Maggie told me, Ally was an angel sent from heaven to help with the young ones. She was very good at keeping all four of them busy at the same time with little trouble. I went over when the day was done to see Ally brushing the girls' hair while singing a lullaby to them in Spanish. When she finished brushing hair and they were ready for bed, she kissed them good night and started softly singing something in another language. It was a pretty sight to see and I just watched from the doorway. Maggie's voice in my ear didn't even startle me.  
"Isn't she pretty?"  
"Very pretty. She sings very well."  
"When are you gonna tell her?"  
"Tell her what?" I was confused. What did I need to tell Ally?  
"You know very well what I mean."  
"Watta ya mean?"  
"You still don't know, do you?" she mused to herself. "My, you are slow."  
"Wat am Ise missing?"  
"You like her."  
"Course Ise do. Dat's wat friends do; dey like each other."  
Maggie walked away, shaking her head and muttering to herself.

* * *

I was exhausted, but the girls wanted one more lullaby before I left the room, so I sang them an old Indian song Mama sang to me sometimes.  
"You think you know what beauty is.  
You think beauty is just good looks.  
Let me tell you, you are wrong.  
Beauty is more than just good looks.  
Beauty is the Earth around us.

Beauty is a quiet night,  
Black sky with stars and moon so bright.  
All quiet but the insect's noise.  
Children lying in their beds.  
This is beauty, this and more.

Beauty is in Mother Nature herself,  
Just the way God created her.  
Peaceful nights and laughing children.  
Friendships formed by sharing a smile.  
This is beauty to God and me.

So if you say "No, that is wrong,"  
You know nothing of true beauty.  
People are beautiful when they are kind.  
The Earth and kindness go hand-in-hand.  
That is true beauty, and nothing else.

You think you know what beauty is.  
But beauty is not just good looks.  
True beauty is Earth, peaceful and quiet.  
Quiet kindness is also beauty.  
And that is all that beauty is."

Exiting the room as I finished the song, I saw Racetrack sitting at the table eating a piece of pie. He waved at me as he swallowed a large mouthful of food.  
"Hola Antonio," I whispered. "What brings you here?"  
He held up the note I had given him the previous night. "Did you really cry yourself to sleep?"  
I nodded. "I thought we talked last night about it?"  
"You never mentioned crying yourself to sleep."  
"Does it matter?"  
"Yes! No? I don't know. Does it?"  
"I asked you first."  
"But now I'm asking you."  
"If I knew the answer, would I be asking you?"  
"Do you ever make things easy for people?"  
"Do you ever answer questions when people ask?"  
"Only when it suits me."  
"It better suit you this time."  
"I answered already. I don't know if it matters."  
"I don't know if it matters either. That's why I didn't mention it in the first place."  
"Was that so hard to say?"  
"Are you always so difficult?"  
"Are you always so stubborn?"  
"Every day."  
Maggie brought more and a cup of milk for me. "Eat up, children, and stop your quarrelling." She was trying to sound stern, but her look of amusement ruined it. "My goodness, if you two don't admit it soon I'm going to have to take action."  
"Admit what?" Racetrack and I asked together, both of us with pie in our mouths.  
"You are the most in love couple I have seen in years, but neither of you will admit it."  
We looked at each other and shrugged before turning back to our pie in silence.

_**I believe the only translation in this chapter is hola, which means hello for anyone who didn't already know that. And before people go looking for the "song" Ally sings, it's not a real song. It's a poem I wrote myself I wanted to use somewhere in this story. I figured this chapter worked pretty well. So yeah, don't try to find it because it only exists as a song in my imagination. Now please review and tell me what you think. The review button doesn't like when only one person hits it. (Plus I'll send you virtual cookies and write your own story if you review regularly.)**_


	10. More Fights and First Kisses

_**MinnieG123-I'm glad you like the story so much. It's nice to hear that someone literally freaks out because they're so excited I've updated. That made my day.  
**__**Tif S-Yes, Allegra's gotten herself into quite the situation. Poor her for sure. Hopefully they do work things out and nothing gets broken. We'll have to see though. And it might be poor Racetrack if only Rooster knew why his sister was really crying. If only he knew indeed. Since you think this story is awesome as always, you are forgiven for not reviewing sooner.  
**__**Panda Bear-That sucks about the performance in the park. But at least no one else got to do their solo. (Isn't it kinda bad how that always makes people feel better?) You know what, I think the way you were acting like a whale sounds even funnier than Dory. That was a good scene though. I can't wait for the new one either. And Race and Ally are very much in love. They just can't get up front with each other because...well, because I said so. And because they're very stubborn and want to keep shrugging it off instead of dealing with it. To semi-quote a lady I care for, we will just love Spot because he's so darn cute. Maybe send him some cookies or something just for fun. I think your sense was right, there is a fight coming on soon. Read on to find out!  
**_**_Virtual_**_** cookies to all three of you lovely people for reviewing. You rock!**_

_**Don't own Newsies or anything from Disney. Do own Allegra (and all her names), Castel/Rooster, Maggie, Tajo, and...anyone else I created? I own whatever characters not from the film.**_

* * *

The next week went by fast. Things had started to fall into a sort of routine. Maggie and I would play at Medda's most of the day before picking the kids up from school and watching them the rest of the afternoon. I helped put them to bed, usually singing a lullaby or two. Racetrack came over almost every night that week and we would just sit and talk after the youngsters were in bed. Maggie would join us for a few minutes but made a point of leaving us alone most of the time. Neither of us was bothered by it, so we never complained. Mostly he would try and teach me English, but after our little lessons we would sit and argue about one thing or another. We argued about small things most times, and we would end up laughing about how silly we sounded. I enjoyed those times very much, although I never told anyone just how much. I didn't want them getting the idea that I had feelings for Race that were anything but friendly.  
Spot visited me once or twice that week, and we finally set a day to go see the flickers. We had agreed on a Friday night about a week after we had met. When Spot arrived that night, I was still getting ready. I had decided to wear a dress that had belonged to Mama. She had worn it on her first outing with Papa and she had given it to me when I turned 14. Maggie insisted on doing something special with my hair, and it looked beautiful. Maggie had put curls in my hair and pinned them up, leaving part of it down in waves. Ariana was helping me to put a red flower in my hair, wanting me to look pretty for Spot. Caelyn was brushing Maggie's hair and trying to put a bow in it. Maggie had somehow gotten Castel to ask her to see a flicker as well. Castel had heard about my date with Spot from Maggie and decided I shouldn't be alone with Spot.  
"How do I look?" I asked Maggie. She set Ariana on the ground and turned to me, the skirt on her green dress swishing around her long legs.  
"Hermoso, as always."  
I smiled gratefully at her. Hearing the sound of male voices coming from the kitchen, I drew a deep breath and walked out to meet my date.

* * *

Allegra walked into the kitchen, looking prettier than she usually did. I had always thought she was pretty, ever since I had met her. But seeing her dressed up took my breath away and I had to remind myself to breathe in. She smiled at me, waving a greeting. I waved back, feeling a silly grin spread across my face. Maggie followed her out, grinning cheekily at the pair of us. She leaned in and whispered something to Allegra, who blushed and swatted her friend. I saw a flash of a smile though, and wondered what she had been told.  
After Maggie left Tajo with a few instructions, we left. Rooster joined us just as we left the building. Maggie gave us instructions to play a game where we had to name things in our own language and see how many words we could learn before grabbing Rooster's arm and walking ahead. I could here the two of them running their mouths and chuckled to myself. Allegra seemed content to just watch the two of them for a while. I held her hand, thinking how lucky I was to have met her.

I honestly couldn't tell you what the flicker we saw was about. I spent more time watching Ally's face as she watched it. I could tell you it was funny though, because she spent most of the time laughing and making whispered comments to Maggie and Rooster, who were sitting on her other side. Rooster wanted to stop and get a drink after, so he and Maggie went to Tibby's while I walked Allegra home. We played the game Maggie had suggested, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I was able to learn a lot of new words, but I couldn't help noticing how much Allegra struggled to learn even one. It made me wonder if something was wrong, but I had no way of asking. I put it out of my mind as we walked up the flight of stairs to where Maggie lived. The sitting room was empty when we arrived and it was quiet. I wondered where Tajo was, knowing he had come by after selling papes to watch his siblings. Allegra looked up at me and again I realized just how beautiful she was.  
"Eres hermosa."  
She tipped her head to one side, as if to ask me if I really thought she was pretty. She stood on her tiptoes and put her arms around me in a hug. I hugged her back, feeling happy about our date. When she pulled back, I couldn't resist giving her a kiss. Allegra responded at first, but when the kiss started getting more intense she quickly pulled away, pushing me away. I was confused. She hadn't seemed to mind being kissed at first, so I wondered what would make her pull away. Putting my arm on her shoulder, I tried to look at her face, wanting to see if she was upset. I was surprised when she looked up and let me kiss her again. This time I made sure it was gentle and was happy when she didn't pull away. We stayed like that until a low growl made us pull apart.

* * *

I spent my day at the track like I normally did. But that day I made a point to stay later than usual so I wouldn't have to see Ally with Spot. I still wasn't sure what to make of my feelings about Ally. I was happy she liked Spot, but jealous all the same and sometimes when I looked at her I had the strangest desire to kiss her as Spot had done. I told this to one of the jockeys at the races as we waited for the next race to start, hoping for some advice.  
"Ah, young love," he said with a laugh, leaning on the railing with a far-away look in his eyes. "What does your heart tell you to do kid?"  
"I dunno," I told him. "Dat's why I'm askin youse."  
"Want my advice kid?" He put a hand on my shoulder, looking straight into my eyes with a serious expression on his face. "Tell her what you're feelin and see if she feels the same way. If she does, ask her to be your girl. But don't waste time hiding how you feel. Life ain't long enough for that."  
I nodded, deciding tonight I would talk with Ally and tell her exactly how she made me feel.

I headed back to Manhattan that night after the races. I went straight Maggie's apartment to see if the girls were back yet. When I walked in, Tajo was alone in the kitchen, reading a book.  
"Heya Race," he whispered, looking up at my soft knock on the wall. "Dey're not back yet. Want ta wait?"  
I moved into the kitchen and sat in the chair across from Tajo. "Watchja readin?"  
"Oliver Twist."  
We lapsed into silence after that. I was glad for the silence, planning what to say to Ally in my head. I was so lost in thought I didn't notice how much time had past until Tajo thumped my head with his book.  
"Huh?"  
"Wat's on yer mind?"  
I lifted my shoulders, not sure I wanted to tell him. He lifted his eyebrow in response, motioning with his head to the fire escape. I followed him out, deciding it couldn't hurt to see what he said.  
"Dere's dis goirl," I started, leaning against the rail.  
"Allegra. Or Ally, as youse call her." Tajo didn't look surprised, which surprised me.  
"Wat?"  
"It's written all over your face when youse look at her. Don't give me a load of bull poo and say it ain't her." He pointed a finger in my face. "Now wat about her? Do youse need help tellin her?"  
I thought about denying it but decided against it, seeing as how Tajo had already picked up on that much. "Ise don't know how Ise feel 'bout her. She's da most stubborn goirl Ise eva met, but sometimes it makes me want ta kiss her."  
"Don't dat say enough bout how ya feel?"  
"But…but…" I struggled for words to say, anything to deny that I liked her. "Ise don't want ta ruin da friendship we got. We just met and Ise think she's da most interesting goirl Ise know and…and da prettiest…and she got da best smile…" I trailed off, thinking of her face and all of the other things I liked about her. Tajo just smiled, not saying anything else. I stayed out there after Tajo went to check on the kids, letting my mind wander. After a while, it started to get cold and I went inside. Checking my pocketwatch on the way in, I realized how late it was and decided to leave. On the way to the door, I saw Spot kissing Allegra and couldn't stop the growl that left my throat. They pulled apart quickly, Spot saying a hurried good-bye as he showed himself out the door. Ally put her hands on her hips and glared at me.  
"What is your problem?" she hissed at me in Spanish.  
"You kissing him," I blurted without thinking.  
"Why is that a problem?"  
"It bothers me!"  
She looked confused. "Why would it bother you?"  
"Because it just does!" All my carefully planned thoughts flew out of my head. I couldn't remember the words I wanted to tell her and I struggled to come up with something that would help me explain things to her. "It bothers me because…because it just does! There's no reason!"  
"There has to be a reason! You can't just tell me it bothers you just because it does!"  
Her voice grew louder and I raised mine to match hers. "Do you always need a reason for everything?"  
"Do you always need to avoid answering questions?"  
"Do you always have to win arguments?"  
"Do you always have to start them?"  
"Do you always have to frustrate me?"  
"Do you always have to be so infuriating?"  
"So this is my fault?"  
"Are you blaming me for this?"  
"Yes I am! You just go skipping around kissing boys and not thinking about how others feel!"  
"OH!" She threw her hands up and glared at me. "OH! It's my fault for kissing boys that like me instead of waiting for bums like you to figure out how they feel and tell me?"  
"What? That's…that's…OH!"  
"That's what? The truth?"  
"That's the farthest _thing_ from the truth!"  
"Well then if you care so much about my kissing Spot, why don't you kiss me already? Or are you waiting for something?"  
"Wha…why…but…You're so frustrating!"  
"You said that already!"  
We stood there glaring at each other, hands on our hips. I noticed her shoulders shaking in anger and realized I had made her that mad. I suddenly felt bad, because I had waited for her to come and tell her how important she was to me and here we were fighting. I didn't want to give in first though, because I didn't want to lose another fight to her. Just as that thought entered my brain, the advice from the jockey entered. "Don't waste time hiding how you feel. Life ain't long enough for that."  
"Well if you have nothing else to say." Ally's voice broke into my thoughts "Here you are and there's the door. Feel free to walk through it any time." She tried to brush past me but I grabbed her shoulders.  
"Wait, Ally. Please don't be mad. I'm not very good at this. I had everything planned out but when I saw you with him, it flew out of my brain."  
"What did?" She still looked angry, but she hadn't pulled away yet. I took that as a good sign and moved closer to her.  
"I want to tell you how I feel, but the words never seem to be there. I don't even know what the feelings are exactly." I bumbled along for another minute before deciding to just shut up. The feeling of wanting to kiss her welled up again as I studied her face and this time, I didn't resist it. She melted into my arms right away, fitting in them perfectly. My heart soared as I pulled her closer. We pulled apart at the sound of the door opening, looking around wildly. Maggie and Rooster walked in, holding hands and laughing.  
"What happened here?" Maggie asked, looking between the two of us and sounding amused.  
I muttered something and quickly brushed past them. That night I dreamed of kissing Ally and the feeling of holding her in my arms.

_**(I think) the only translation would be Eres hermosa, which as we already found out means you're beautiful. So yeah, please keep making friends with the review button. It loves meeting new people. (And seeing the old ones who review all the time.)**_


	11. Breakfast at Nonna's-Racetrack

_**Tif S-Thank you so much for reviewing! I love getting reviews. I'm glad you think the story's heating up. Hopefully this chapter is as good as the rest.**_

_**Panda Bear-Fudge knockers! You weren't supposed to find out my secret! (I'm really a wizard studying at Hogwarts and I was working on a spell...) But I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, it's weird. Maybe some day somebody will figure out why and explain it to us. Yes, they finally kiss! Point for Racetrack! Spot is most definitely going to find out about this. There's just no way around it. So enjoy the tension while you can. (Or don't. Do people enjoy tension? I don't think so...Okay, I'll just shut up about that now...) I don't know if Maggie and Rooster kiss. I think they do at some point, although I'm not sure when. I'm planning a kiss for them for sure and I think it will be funny.  
**_

_**MinnieG123-Thanks for the review! I'm so glad you like this story enough to fangirl over it so much. I'm glad to keep posting, especially when people enjoy it so much. And thanks for saying the chapter was well done. Glad you liked it!**_

_**Still don't own Newsies so I don't know why I keep having to tell you. I do own any characters you don't remember seeing in Newsies though.**_

The next morning I ran over to Maggie's and asked if I could borrow Allegra for the morning. I had waken up before Rooster's early morning cries and had thought up the idea to bring Ally to my grandmother's house for one of her home-cooked meals. I wanted Ally to meet my grandmother and thought my grandmother could use some female company that morning.  
"Antonio!" my grandmother cried when she saw me, giving me a huge hug. "Oh, I've missed you, il mio bambino. You must come over more. I see you're brought a friend over. Benvenuti nella mia casa. Do come in, come in. Don't be shy. Come; tell me about your new friend. She's una vera bellezza. Better hold on to her, Antonio." She continued talking away as she led us into the kitchen and sat us down.  
"That's my nonna," I whispered to Ally, putting my arm around the back of her chair and leaning closer to her. "She likes having company over. It's always an excuse for her to cook everything in sight and stuff the person like a turkey." Ally giggled and I felt my heart jump at the sound. It sounded like windchimes dancing in the wind and made me smile happily. We just sat there smiling at each other until my nonna set down two plates filled with bacon, eggs, sausage, and buttered bread.  
"Gracias," Ally murmured before picking up her fork and carefully taking a bite of egg.  
"Tu sei il benvenuto, mio caro." Nonna set out some glasses and poured milk into each of them before sitting down with her own plate. "Now Antonio, tell me about your fidanzata. How long have you been together?"  
I choked on the milk I had been drinking. Ally looked confused as she patted me on the back. Nonna calmly handed me a napkin to wipe my mouth on. "M-m-my fidanzata?" I managed to stutter out when I stopped coughing.  
"Surely you don't take me for a somaro, do you? I can see the way you look at her mio caro Antonio. I may be old but I can still see, you know."  
Ally tugged on my sleeve and I sighed. "She thinks you're my girlfriend," I explained. She almost choked on the bite of toast in her mouth and politely spit it out onto a napkin. She turned to Nonna and started explaining in rapid Spanish, her face a bright red. "Oh no, we aren't dating. We're just good friends. He's teaching me English is all. He lives with my brother Castel in the Newsboy Lodging House."  
Nonna chuckled. "Be that as it may little one, I can see you are very much in love with my grandson. He's very much in love with you as well, though he won't admit it. I'm afraid he gets that stubborn streak from me. But he'll come around. He always does." She patted our hands and smiled. Ally and I looked down at them, just realizing we had been holding hands without realizing it.

* * *

I walked Ally back to Maggie's so she could get ready for work and bring the kids to school. We talked about Nonna the whole way back.  
"I like her," she said. "She is un paquete de alegría."  
"You really think so?"  
"Si, muchísimo. She's very different from my grandparents."  
"How so?"  
"They are very polite and set in their ways. My papa is like that. He is very set in his ways but is too polite to tell you if you upset him. It was hard growing up, not knowing if he was upset with you or not."  
I stopped walking and turned to face Ally. She sounded sad while talking about her papa, and I wanted to make her smile again. Reaching for her, I hugged her and rubbed small circles on her back. I could feel her relaxing in my arms, a sigh of contentment escaping her lips. We drew back enough to look into each other's eyes. Her eyes widened a bit as I started to lean in, but she didn't pull away.  
"Are you gonna kiss Auntie Ally?" The tiny voice made us pull apart in shock. Ariana stood next to us, wide-eyed and curious.  
"Auntie Ally?" I stared at her and then at Ally, not sure when they had started calling Ally Auntie.  
Caelyn nodded as she walked up. "We call you Uncle Tony and Maggie says you like Ally. So that makes her Auntie, don't it?"  
Just then Boyden and Darien came down the stairs, fighting with their wooden swords. "Antonio and Ally, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" they shouted. Ally walked over and grabbed each of them by an ear, marching them up the stairs and back into the house. Ariana grabbed my hand and I looked down at her.  
"I like you, but if you like Ally that's okay too. I like her. She sings me lullabies and lets me play her flute sometimes." She skipped off to join Caelyn just as Ally came back down with the twins, flute in one hand and music and packed lunches in the other. Calling the kids over, she waved good-bye and herded them off to school. Maggie hurried down the stairs to wave them off. I pointed my thumb in their direction and asked "Wat was dat about?"  
"They're a bit crazy this morning," Maggie told me, looking apologetic. "I really haven't a clue where they get their energy." Her apologetic look turned suspicious. "Tell me about last night. What happened?" I glared at her, hoping my face wouldn't turn red and give me away. "Well?" she asked when I didn't say anything. "Start talking boy!"  
"We kissed last night." I whispered it to myself, hoping Maggie wouldn't hear and ask me to repeat it.  
"Speak up boy. My hearing isn't so good."  
"We kissed last night. Ise don't know wat made me do it-"  
Maggie let out a loud cry, raising one fist in the air. "I knew it! It's about time. You two are so cute, the way you just danced around each other. Oh, this is good news. I knew it! I knew it the entire time. Oh what fun!" She started dancing and spinning around me, laughing her head off. I grabbed her arm to stop her; all that spinning was making me dizzy.  
"We's ain't a couple. We's just kissed."  
"Then what happened this morning?"  
"Ise brought her ta my nonna's place fer breakfast. Ise wanted dem ta meet. Plus my nonna's a real good cook. We didn't talk 'bout last night at all."  
Maggie shook her head at me. "Antonio Higgins, what is the matter with you? You can't just kiss a girl one night and bring her to breakfast the next day but not talk about it. You had better march after that girl and kiss her right good young man! And when you finish, you better make sure she knows she's your girl before she goes running off to Spot and kissing him." She gave me a shove in the direction Ally had gone and went back inside, muttering to herself in a mixture of Spanish and English. I stumbled a bit before regaining my balance and trotting off in the right direction. Just as I turned the first corner, a fist swung out and struck me square in the nose. I fell backwards on my rear, holding my nose to stop the blood coming out of my nose.  
"Wat do youse mean by kissin my goirl, Higgins?" I looked up at the shadow falling over me to see Spot glaring at me. "Dat's my goirl and if Ise hear dat youse kissed her again, Ise'll do worse den bust your nose." He backhanded me as he turned and left. I sat on the ground holding my nose and wondering what I had gotten myself into by kissing Ally.

_**Translations (I used a lot of them...sorry about that...)**_

_**Il mio bambino-My baby (Italian) (I translated it from English to Italian and it meant something a bit different...but close enough I guess.)**_

_**Benvenuti nella mia casa-Welcome to my home. (Italian)**_

_**Una vera bellezza-a real beauty**_

_**Nonna-grandma/grandmother**_

_**Tu sei il benvenuto, mio caro-You are welcome my dear**_

_**Gracias means thank you (as we already know by now)**_

_**Fidanzata-girlfriend**_

_**Somaro-dunce**_

_**Un paquete de alegria-A bundle of joy**_

_**Si, muchisimo-Yes, very much so**_

_**I think that's all I used. If I missed one, I'm sorry. Please tell me in a review or PM and I'll fix that. Speaking of reviews, please leave one? I'll send cookies. (Real ones, not just virtual ones.)**_


	12. I Love Her

_**MinnieG123-Sorry for doing this, but the suspense just might have to kill you a little bit longer. Hopefully you don't get too sleep deprived waiting to find out who Ally ends up with. (P.S. I'm glad you think it's amazing.)**_

_**Panda Bear-My friend came up with that term in high school. We were talking about what I would be like when I was drunk and she said I'd be some kind of angry drunk and would walk up to someone and say "What'd you say to me fudge knocker?" before kicking their butt. I hope your friends get some enjoyment out of it. Yes, that is an angry Spot. He gets a point for now, but the question is will he win in the end? I think Jeffrey is an okay name for a cat. If you want a name people laugh at, name your cat Mew-Mew. (Seriously, I know someone that named their cat that. Or Meatball. That's another name.) For some reason I have this picture of your cat being all kinds of trouble and the name Jeffrey suits him because that's a trouble-makers name or something. I don't know, it's very late/really early right now and I should have been in bed hours ago, but I really wanted to finish this chapter and it took forever because I had to figure out how to make it work. I'm going to use that idea of someone talking to a cat at some point in this story. I just have to figure out how to work it in (because I'm weird enough to think that's cool). I don't get that either. Why is it always the guy's fault? Not that I mind the advantage, but seriously, WHY?**_

_**Okay, insert typical I-own-nothing-but-my-imaginary-characters disclaimer here.**_

Punching Racetrack didn't make me feel much better, although I did feel slightly less angry. I wasn't even sure why I was mad, other than the fact that I was under the impression that Allegra was kind of my girl. I aimlessly wandered around for a while before heading back to Brooklyn to sell some papes. I met Tajo at our usual place for selling papes and starting selling the headline.  
"Wat's da matta?" he asked as we walked back to the lodging house that night.  
"Allegra and Race kissed last night." I didn't mean to say anything, but it bubbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Ise thought she was my goirl. Ise got so mad when Ise hoird dat I punched Race in da nose."  
Tajo looked serious. "Dat's not good. We's gotta get youse and Race together and have a talk wit Ally."  
I nodded, hoping to sort things out before things got worse and a war broke out.

The next morning I left early with Tajo. We headed for Manhattan to look for Racetrack and Allegra, who we found in Central Park with Tajo's younger siblings. Race and the twins were running around having races with their kites and Allegra was helping Ariana fly a kite while Caelyn danced around them with her own kite. When we were spotted, everyone abandoned their kites and mobbed Tajo in a hug. Ally stayed back and gathered up the kites as Race walked over. He stayed a safe distance away from me and nodded. I winced at his two black eyes, sorry that I had done that.  
"Ise sorry for wat Ise did. Ise didn't know youse was a couple," he told me.  
"We ain't really a couple. Ise don't know wat we are."  
"Dat's why we're here," Tajo added, giving hugs to everyone. He looked at the kids. "Can youse go back ta kite flyin? We's need ta have a grown-up talk now."  
"Awwww." All four kids managed to speak in unison, which made us all smile.  
"But Maggie told us we's gotta get Uncle Race and Auntie Ally ta kiss again." Boyden and Darien looked at Tajo with mutinous looks on their faces. "She told us we had a job ta do."  
"Go!" Tajo pointed towards the pile of kites Ally had made. "Ise will have a talk wit Maggie tonight and tell her youse did your job and dat she has a big mouth." They didn't look happy but followed the girls, pouting. Ally came over, holding a basket in her hands. She pulled out a blanket and spread it on the ground. Sitting on it, she motioned for us to sit as well and started handing out food. Race took a big bite of his sandwich and started chewing, watching Allegra the whole time. I noticed for the first time how he looked at her-his whole face lit up and his expression softened. Everything about him seemed softer and more relaxed and that's when it hit me that Race loved her. I always had the feeling he liked Ally as more than a friend, but for the first time it struck me his feelings went deeper than that.  
"Spot!"  
Something soft and squishy hit my face and pulled me back to the present. "Wat?" I picked up the sandwich Tajo threw at me, unwrapping it and taking a bite.  
"Tell Race wat youse told me yesterday," Tajo said, taking a bite of his own sandwich.  
I quickly told him as Tajo explained it to Allegra.  
"So Ise really am sorry," I finished. "Ise just wasn't thinkin straight."  
Race still looked a bit angry, but I could understand why and didn't blame him. "Her and I ain't a couple either. Ise already told ya, Ise don't want ta see none of dat kissin and if youse hoirt her Ise'll hoirt you. Other den dat, Ise don't care if youse ask her ta be your goirl."  
"Are youse sure bout that?"  
He nodded, but I wasn't convinced. I started at him to see if he would change his mind, but he just nodded his head in her direction and walked back to the kids flying their kites.

* * *

Tajo explained to me how Race had gotten his black eyes. According to Spot, he had overheard Race telling Maggie him and I had kissed, which made Spot jealous. I shook my head, wondering if I could really be the cause of all this. Tajo just looked bemused, apparently not enjoying playing the role of translator.  
"If you three don't settle this soon, I'm going to put you in a room and leave you to fight it out."  
"I have a better idea. Tell them I won't be anyone's girl and that if they get into anymore fights because of me, I'm going to fight them."  
Tajo laughed and patted my back. "That's the best idea I've heard yet. What do you suggest we do with my sister and your brother?  
"Get them in the same room and tell them to kiss already." I glanced up to see Maggie and Castel coming our way. "Or since they're here right now, maybe we could just push them together and see what happens." We shared a quiet laugh as they walked up.  
"What happened to Racetrack's face?" Castel asked, not having heard about what happened. When he had his nose in a book, the world could end and he wouldn't notice.  
"Are Antonio and Ally a couple yet?" Maggie reached into the basket for a sandwich. I grabbed it out of her hand before she could take a bite.  
"What?" Castel asked, looking at her. "What do you mean?"  
"You haven't noticed the way they look at each other?"  
"I've been busy with school. I didn't know there was anything to watch."  
They started talking about school and Tajo and I shook our heads. At this rate they would never kiss. Getting an idea, I leaned over to Tajo and whispered the plan in his ear. He grinned and nodded, grabbing a sandwich himself. We stood up and walked over to our siblings, waving the sandwiches in their faces. They immediately stopped talking and reached for the food.  
"Hey!" Castel yelled as we pulled back.  
"Give us the food!" Maggie tried to look threatening as she reached for the food, but it was comical because Tajo was so much taller than her and she was jumping up and down trying to reach it.  
I dodged out of Castel's reach and waved the sandwich around. I laughed when Castel stood there with his hands on his hips and glared at me. "Come get it!" He ran over to me, but I ran over to Race and hid behind him, Castel not far behind me.  
"What are you doing?" Race asked me. He passed his kite off to one of the twins and watched us.  
"Na-Na, give me the food. I'm starving!"  
"Kiss her already!" I dodged out of his reach again and ran behind Maggie, who was still jumping around Tajo. Castel didn't quite stop in time and ploughed straight into Maggie. They fell in a heap on the ground as I laughed. Maggie glared at me and stuck out her tongue. I stuck mine out at her and waved my sandwich.  
"You little bugger!" Castel managed to get himself out from underneath Maggie and sat up. Maggie looked at him and brushed some dirt off his shoulder. "Your sister is a-"  
He suddenly brushed his lips against Maggie's. Tajo and I cheered as Maggie looked startled for a moment before kissing him back. I hugged Tajo and he spun me in a circle. I smiled happily until I caught Race watching me. A sudden desire to run into his arms and kiss him shot through me. I turned away, remembering my words to Tajo that I wouldn't be anyone's girl.

* * *

I couldn't sleep that night because I kept thinking about Ally. Images kept running through my head of times Ally and I had spent together. Us holding hands at Nonna's; us making faces at each other the day we met at Medda's; the way she looked the night we kissed; her face as she struggled to learn the English words I taught her. Everytime I closed my eyes, the show would start again and it always ended with us kissing. I sighed as I rolled onto my side again. A shadow on the wall made me sit up.  
"Racetrack!" Rooster whispered, putting a hand over his heart. "You gave me a fright! I thought everyone was asleep."  
"Nope."  
"Trouble sleeping?"  
"Yep."  
"Thinking about Allegra?"  
"Yep. Wait, what?"  
Rooster sat on the floor next to my bunk. "I may not know you that well, but I do know my sister better than she does. And I can clearly see that she cares a great deal about you. It's all over her face. I can see it on yours too."  
"Lei è la mia amica."  
"She may be your friend, but you like her a bit more than a friend, si?"  
I gave up trying to deny it. "Io sono innamorato di lei."  
"We can see that."  
I flopped backwards on my bunk and stared at the mattress above me. Kid Blink rolled on his back, an arm falling over the side. "I kissed her. The other night, I kissed her. We were fighting about her kissing Spot and she tried to leave but I stopped her. Next thing I knew we were kissing."  
"So she knows you love her?"  
"I don't know. We haven't really talked about that night. I brought her to my nonna's for breakfast yesterday and we almost kissed again, but we didn't talk about it."  
Rooster gave me a disappointed look. "Don't break mi hermana's heart. Tell her you love her soon, before she goes crying to Spot and he takes advantage of that." With that, he stood up and climbed into his bunk. I lay awake a little bit longer before rolling on my stomach and finally falling asleep. When I did, I dreamed of telling Ally I loved her.

**_Translations_**

_**Lei è la mia amica.-She's my friend.**_

_**Io sono innamorato di lei.-I'm in love with her.**_

_**They're both Italian. I realized in the last chapter I didn't really clarify what language they were. Most of them were Italian and I think I put down if it was Spanish. If it doesn't make sense or it looks different, try it in the other language.**_


	13. Admitting the truth-Race and Spot

**_Panda Bear-Does your mom not notice when your cat does that? Or does she just think he's smart to figure out out to get himself locked in a laundry hamper? I'm glad to be using weird ideas in my stories. I put the cat idea in this chapter, so I hope you like it. And I already have an idea of how to work a song into the story. I just need to wait for the right chapter, but it will come. I'll make as much music with this as I can. You seriously think this is the best fanfic you've ever read? I'm flattered. Thank you so much!_**

**_MinnieG123-Thank you so much. I'm glad you like the emotions in my story. You rock!_**

**_I only own the characters I created._**

The next day poured rain and made it impossible to sell any papes. I stayed in the lodging house all morning, entertaining the younger newsies with stories and my mouth organ. Kloppman came up about mid-morning and told a few stories from his youth. When the rain finally slowed after lunch, I made my escape and headed outside. Stopping to buy a few papes to sell, I wandered around Manhattan for a few hours before finding myself outside Ally's door. I stood outside without knocking, wondering if I should go in. A black-and-white cat rubbed against my legs and I reached down to pet him.  
"Wat do youse think Ise should do, cat?" I asked, picking him up. "Should Ise tell her and maybe mess everything up? Or do youse think she'd like me back?" He meowed, looking up at me with wide green eyes that reminded me of Ally. "Sure, don't bother telling me wat Ise should do. Just ask for food, why's don'tja? Ise ain't givin youse food till youse give me an answer. Wat do Ise do?" He purred and waved his tail. For some reason he reminded me of a Jeffery. I had no idea where that name came from, but I thought it suited him. "So Jeffery, wat do Ise do? Go in and tell her or not?" Jeffery meowed and jumped out of my arms. "Thanks for da help! Dat wasn't very useful!"  
"What wasn't useful? Who were you talking to?" Maggie's voice scared me and I let out a scream. Unfortunately for me it sounded like a girl and several people erupted into laughter. I peered around Maggie to see all of her siblings, including Tajo, plus Spot and Ally all standing on the stairs. I tried to glare at them, but even I had to admit it sounded funny, me looking like I was talking to myself and screaming like a girl. I slowly smiled, letting out a chuckle at myself.  
"What brings you here today Race?" Maggie asked when the laugher subsided.  
"Ise was just out sellin papes and found myself here."  
"We were just on our way to walk Tajo and Spot back to Brooklyn. Would you care to join us?"  
I decided to go with them. I watched as Spot and Ally walked in front of the group with Ariana in between them holding both their hands. As they walked, they would swing Ariana in the air and laugh at her squeals each time. I couldn't help noticing how good Spot and Ally looked together. A pang of jealousy shot through me. I sighed, tired of feeling that way every time I saw them together. I made up my mind right then and there that Rooster was right and I should tell Ally before Spot took her. Before I could make a move though, Boyden and Darien came up and challenged me to a sword fight with them.

* * *

I watched Ally as we walked back to Brooklyn. She looked very relaxed and happy, swinging Ariana in the air as we walked. The little girl loved Ally as another big sister, and I could tell Ally thought of Ariana as a younger sister. Caelyn skipped over to us and grabbed Allegra's free hand. They started singing a song together as we walked and I could see how much Ally had been accepted into the family.  
"Wat are youse thinkin?" Tajo's voice murmured in my ear.  
"Your sisters look up ta Allegra," I murmured back. He nodded.  
"She's good wit them. Ise don't know wat Maggie would do witout her help."  
"I don't know either. That girl really is an angel from Heaven," Maggie said as she joined us. Boyden and Darien ran past us, being chased by Race. "Be careful boys!"  
"Hey Maggie, wat do youse think of Race and Ally?" I asked suddenly.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Ise mean…" I paused. What exactly had I meant? "Ise was wonderin…dat is…are dey…?"  
"I think they are both wonderful people, if that's what you mean." She pierced me with a look and I got the feeling she understood what I meant but was waiting for me to figure it out.  
"Dey're in love, aren't dey?"  
Maggie nodded slowly, as if it would make it hurt less. "Yes, I think they are very much in love. They have trouble admitting it, but yes. They love each other."  
"Wat are youse gonna do 'bout it?" Tajo shared a look with me.  
"Ise ain't sure yet." I was a bit torn. As much as it pained me, I could tell Allegra cared about Race a lot and I knew I should back off. But on the other hand, I liked her and wasn't sure I wanted to give up without a fight. "If dey really are in love, Ise don't want ta mess wit dat. But Ise also don't want ta give up witout at least tryin." The brother and sister nodded but didn't say anything. We kept walking in silence, reaching the Brooklyn Lodging House before breaking it.  
"Well, I'll be praying you reach a decision soon," Maggie told me. I nodded and thanked her before walking inside. I stopped short when I reached the bunkroom. Sitting on my bunk was the last person I expected to see.

* * *

I was glad when we reached the Brooklyn Lodging house. After Spot went inside, I pulled Ally aside and asked if we could talk. She looked at Ariana and Caelyn, who were still holding her hands.  
"Girls, can you please walk with Maggie for a few moments? Uncle Tony and I need to have a talk." They pouted, but Ally didn't give in. She shooed them off and sent Boyden and Darien on their way, telling them to play a game as they waited for us to finish talking. She turned to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Is something the matter?"  
"What?" I was startled, until I realized I must have had a serious expression on my face. "No! Nothing's wrong. I just needed to tell you something."  
"Is something wrong with Castel?"  
"No, it's about us."  
"What about us?"  
I gathered my thoughts before I spoke. I wanted this to come out right the first time, instead of bumbling my way through and ending up in a fight. I didn't have a good track record of winning fights with her. I took a breath and began. "I know you like Spot and I understand if you want to be his girl. But I can't let another day go by without telling that I love you."  
"Race-"  
"If you don't love me, that's fine. But I can't watch you with Spot, so please just tell me if you would rather be with Spot."  
"Racetrack!"  
"What?" I stopped and looked at her face. She looked slightly amused for some reason.  
"I don't like Spot."  
"You…you don't?"  
"No. Well, I did at first. But I talked with Maggie last night and she helped me realize that Spot isn't the boy I care for."  
"What are you saying?" I asked, holding my breath. Could it mean that she liked me as much as I liked her?  
She looked at me from under her lashes, talking in a whisper. "Te amo."  
I couldn't believe what I heard for a minute. "Tu mi ami?"  
"Si."  
"Te amo," I whispered back as I pulled her into my arms and kissed her for all I was worth.

_**Translations**_

_**Well, we know Si means yes. Te amo means I love you in both Spanish and Italian. And Tu mi ami means you love me in Italian.**_

_**You know the drill. Read, review, and enjoy the awesomeness that is this story!**_


	14. Middle of the Story-Lenmana

_**MinnieG123-Wow...just wow. I don't even know what to say. You really make my day with how much you like this story. Just...wow. That is lots of enthusiasm. Please don't stop reviewing or I don't know what I'll do.**_

_**So yeah...sorry about the short chapter, but it's just kind of a filler chapter to make it flow. I hope it's as good as the rest of them. (I'm sorry about the last chapter too. I'm not sure how much I like it and I was in a hurry to get it up, plus I kind of rewrote it and...yeah. Anyway, enough chatter.) I still own nothing but my own characters so don't sue me.**_

Every story has three parts; a beginning, a middle, and an ending. I have just told you the beginning-I ran away from home because I did not like my parent's expectations for me and along the way, I made some new friends and fell in love. But that is only the beginning. Now I must tell you the middle of my story. To tell it to you, I must explain things to you.  
My story starts in summertime-August to be exact. Racetrack and I became a couple in the fall. Truth be told I had long since lost track of days, so I could not tell you the exact day that it happened. But things settled into a routine after that day. Maggie and I would prepare the children for school every morning and walk them to the one-room schoolhouse they attended before going to Medda's and playing our flutes. When we finished, we would bring the children home. An agreement was worked out that Maggie would return to Medda's two afternoons a week while I minded the children and I would go two afternoons a week while Maggie minded the children. We would be allowed to leave early to mind the children at the end of the week. Oftentimes Maggie and I would ask Racetrack to mind the children that day or bring them to Medda's and keep them busy helping behind the stage. On weekends we would be home with them and do chores around our flat. Every night the girls would ask for a lullaby or a song and I would sing for them. Sometimes I would play my wooden flute for them instead of singing.  
Racetrack would come by every evening after selling papers and we would sit together. He would help me with my English a few evenings a week, but mostly we would just sit and talk. The boys loved him and he would often play games with them or play on his mouth organ as I sang to the girls. Some evenings Maggie and I would play our flutes at home and Race would bring his mouth organ and we would form a little band that the children danced to. It was quite the sight to see four youngsters dancing around the room willy-nilly. Sometimes Castel would join us as well. He would drag Maggie onto the floor for a dance while Race and I provided music. Sometimes we would all join the dancing, even as we played the music. When the children were in bed, Castel and Maggie would sit with us as we talked. But more often than not, Maggie and Castel would sit on the fire escape to have some time alone. Tajo would come and mind the children when we couples needed a break or when we wanted to go on a date.  
Most sadly, I did not see much of Spot during that time. I heard from Tajo that someone important from Spot's past had showed up and that she was taking up most of his time. Tajo didn't have many of the details, because Spot didn't talk about it. But from what Tajo could gather, Spot's cousin showed up with a former girlfriend of his and it was causing many problems for the family.  
Things continued in this manner during the fall. Once winter came and the snow fell, things changed. I suppose I should have been expecting it at that point. Castel and I had been away from home for about three months when I realized we were being watched. I was playing at Medda's one day when I noticed a man at the back of the theatre. After the show he came and introduced himself to me as Mr. Snyder, asking for my name. Feeling uneasy, I told him it was Ally. After that day, I saw him around several more times.  
"Are you sure he's following you?" Race would ask me every time I mentioned it. I always answered that yes, I was sure he was following me and that going to the bulls wouldn't help. And then one day, I saw Mr Snyder there with another man and a woman. A man and woman who looked like Mama and Papa.

_**You know what to do. :P And in case you hit your head and got amnesia, the drill is you read, review, and enjoy the awesome.**_


	15. They Found Me-Race and Lenmana

_**MinnieG-You're too kind to me. I don't know what I would do if you stopped reviewing. And no worries, I have no plans to stop writing. It'd be like not eating or something. My brain wouldn't let me get away with just saying "A few months later..." It's nice to know what happened in those months, isn't it?**_

_**Panda Bear-Yes, 50 points to Race. Thank you so much for saying that was the best kiss scene ever. Between you and MinnieG, I think my ego's gonna get so big it may go to my head. (But no need to stop any time soon-my ego's so flat it could use some meat...) Anyway, it's no problem including the cat. I love how I made the cat just like yours without meeting him. My cat needs to be petted as he eats and if you read the paper instead of paying attention to him, he sits on it so you have to give him attention. It's annoyingly funny. Maybe you should film your cat and show your mom that he just sits there. She might realize he's not to bright then. Yay for solos! I love doing solos. Glad it went well. That sounds like a good use of time off school. Crazy Florida weather. I've been there lots of times for spring break. I love all the sunshine, but I'm glad I don't get floods. :P**_

_**I own Castel, Maggie, Tajo (who doesn't appear in this chapter), Ally (and any nicknames of hers and all my other characters) and Ally's parents. (Who don't really appear that much...but still...) Anything else belongs to Disney (for now...)**_

"Are you sure it was Mr. Snyder?" Racetrack asked me again as we sat at the kitchen table that night. I was trying to teach him how to play my flute that night but he was distracted by the fact that I had once again seen Mr. Snyder at Medda's that day. I had only mentioned it in passing to Maggie, but he had heard and wouldn't stop asking me if I was sure it was Mr. Snyder.  
"Yes, Tony, I'm sure it was him," I said in exasperation. I moved his thumb back into the proper position on the flute. "Now, keep your thumb right here. If you move it, you can't hold the flute properly. Very good." He blew across the hole a few times before setting it down again, looking concerned. I glared at him in frustration, knowing what he was about to say. "It was him. If he comes again, I promise I will go to the cops. Now can we please drop it?"  
"I care about you Ally. I don't want to see anything to happen to you."  
"That's why I'm being more careful. I make sure I'm always with Maggie or Medda after shows. I already promised I wouldn't talk to Mr. Snyder again unless I'm with one of them."  
He grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes. "I want to meet this man. If I'm not mistaken, this man used to run a jail for kids. He's not a nice man."  
I sighed and nodded, realizing Racetrack wouldn't feel good about the situation until the man was gone. "He told me he would bring some guests tomorrow night. He wants me to meet them." I handed him the flute again. "Now try playing a C again."

* * *

The next night I waited backstage with Maggie as promised. Caelyn and Ariana were backstage with us, playing a game of cards. I sat on the floor with them and helped Ariana hold her cards. Maggie was running through the solo Medda had given her. I also had a solo that night, but it wasn't until after Maggie's. Just then Boyden came running backstage, Darien close behind. I always found it comical how they were never far apart.  
"Auntie Ally, Uncle Tony says he needs to talk to you. Says it's important and to come right away."  
"I'll be right back, mis angelitos." I gave the girls a kiss as I stood up. Thanking the twins, I hurried out front, only to see Race talking to Mr. Snyder. Behind him stood Mama and Papa. I let out a gasp and ran backstage again.  
"Ally, what is it?" Maggie asked with concern in her voice. "What happened?"  
I started pacing and venting in Spanish, mixing in some Indian words. "They found me. They found me! How did they find me here? I never wrote home. How did they know? Mr. Snyder! He must have told them. But why-"  
"Allegra!" Maggie grabbed my shoulders and gave them a firm shake. "Slow down and start from the beginning. What happened?"  
"Mama and Papa are here. I don't know how they found me here though. But they're here with that man, Mr. Snyder."  
"I know how they found you." Race walked up and put an arm around my shoulders. "They hired Snyder to find you and your brother."  
"But I thought he ran a jail for kids?"  
"He used to. He was arrested this summer but got out early. Cut some kind of deal, the scabber. Snyder hires himself out to find people. He usually isn't very good at it." Race snorted.  
"Well, there's no sense in getting worked up just yet," Maggie said. "Let's just go on tonight like nothing has happened and we can deal with the situation after that." I nodded, already making plans to alert Castel and leaving tonight.

* * *

Ally was distracted during her solo. Even I could tell, and I was impossible when it came to playing the flute. I couldn't blame her though, what with her parents in the crowd and all. I kept glancing at Snyder standing nearby, looking smug. I wanted to go over and wipe that grin off his face; tell her parents that Ally should stay here in Manhattan with me. I stayed where I was though, keeping in mind that Ally wouldn't like that and that I was sitting at a table with Maggie's sisters. During the walk home, she kept looking over her shoulder, as if expecting to see someone following her.  
"They didn't follow us," I whispered in her ear as we walked. "We slipped out before they noticed."  
Ally didn't look convinced. "Papa is very stubborn. If he wants me to be found, he'll make sure I'm found, no matter how well I hide. You have to make sure to tell Castel tonight. Promise me."  
"I promise." I didn't know how much good it would do, but Allegra looked slightly more relaxed after that. She dropped the subject at any rate.

* * *

"She was sure it was Mama and Papa?" Rooster asked me for the hundredth time.  
"Yes!" I almost shouted at him. "She took one look at them, turned white, and ran backstage. It was them."  
"This is bad. This is so bad. Race, this is bad!"  
I threw my pillow in his face as he grabbed my shoulders. "Zitto! I know it's bad. Your hermana wouldn't shut up about it all night!"  
"You don't understand. We can't go back! We can't!"  
"I was talking to them. They don't seem so bad."  
"They're not bad parents. They're just…"  
"Stubborn?" I supplied. I had heard a bit about them from Ally. They weren't bad people; they just didn't listen to their children very well. That's how Ally told it, anyway. "Not willing to listen?"  
Rooster nodded, his hair sticking up everywhere from running his hand through it so many times that night. "Papa wants Na-Na to go to school. She can't go, Race. She can't. The last school was bad. She got teased so much because she has trouble reading."  
"What kind of trouble? What's wrong?"  
"She has trouble with words. She says the letters move around and some look backwards. Her writing is very poor."  
"Does she have troubles with language at all?"  
"Si. She didn't start to talk until she was a few years old."  
We fell silent as some of the other newsies wandered over. I thought about Ally's problem as I fell asleep. I remembered hearing about a guy who had a problem that sounded a lot like Ally's, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember anything about him.

* * *

The next morning, I kept mulling over Ally's problem as I walked to Maggie's. I wanted to walk Ally to Medda's and ask her some questions. But when I got there, everyone was in a frenzy.  
"Wat happened here?" I asked, watching the chaos.  
"She's gone!"  
"Wat? Who's gone?"  
"Ally's gone!"  
"Wat do youse mean, Ally's gone?"  
"She's gone, Race. She packed everything and left."  
I stood in shocked silence, too stunned to move.

mis angelitos

_**Translations**_

_**Mis angelitos-my little angels (Spanish)**_

_**Zitto-Shut up (We've seen it before, but in case you missed it, it's Italian)**_

_**I think the only other words are Si and Hermana, which are both Spanish and mean Yes and Sister respectively. So...do I need to tell you what to do next?**_


	16. Train Rides and The Past

_**MinnieG-Seriously? I'm your favorite author? Wow, I'm so flattered I don't even know what to say. Wow. Are you sure about that? Anyway, thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying the story that much.**_

_**Panda Bear-Yes, you and MinnieG are my cheerleaders and I don't know what I would do without you. Thank you guys so much! (And thanks for not letting my head explode...I kinda need that...) Yes, Snyder is a fat slimeball. Of course he had to make a deal. Well, he didn't have to, but for the sake of my story he did. Because we all know he's just an overgrown rat that can't find things hiding in plain site. That's really funny about Jeffrey though. Wonder what he thought of that... Nice job with the Solo and Ensemble thing. That's awesome! I'm glad it went well for you. I can see your dad screaming like a little girl and jumping around the kitchen or something as you and your mom watch...Haha...Anyway, as a reward, here's another chapter. Hope you like it.**_

_**I own nothing but my characters. (Which in this case also includes Spot's ex-girlfriend Robin.)**_

I slipped outside in the dead of night, just like I had not so many months ago. Castel and I had agreed on a meeting place just in case we were found. We had taken many walks through Manhattan and Brooklyn and agreed on a spot halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge. I walked the path silently, only holding my flute and whatever clothes I could fit into one small bag. I had kept my bag ready for this moment, always expecting to be caught.  
"Psst, Lenmana! Over here!" I followed the sound of Castel's whispering to a bench. He was crouched behind it, his own bag slung across his shoulders. "Are you ready?"  
We ran straight to the train yards and got on the first train going to Arizona. Our plan was to find Mama's family and see if we could stay with them for a time. After that, we would set out on our own and make a life for ourselves. I didn't really think about what would happen if Mama's family said no or if something failed. Castel said he only planned on succeeding and I should too.  
"It's easier for you," I complained as we stowed our bags and sat down. "At least you can read. And Maggie had no trouble teaching you English. I'll never be able to get anywhere without that."  
Castel took my hand and held it. "You will get somewhere. You will get anywhere you set your mind to. Yo creo en ti. You just need to believe in yourself."  
"Easy for you to say," I muttered, looking out the window. A single tear slipped down my cheek.  
"What is that tear for?" asked Castel, wiping it away with his thumb.  
"I hate this! I hate all of it!" I burst out. "We're on a train in the middle of the night, running away from everything we knew and all because I didn't want to go to school. I hate it."  
Castel looked surprised. He stared out the window for a long time before answering. "What are you going to miss the most?"  
"Everything. I finally felt like things were going right. I was playing in a real band and I didn't have to worry about being teased because I can't read as well as everyone else. It was better because I had Race and Maggie and you and Tajo to share it with. I'm going to miss everyone."  
"You mean Race, don't you?" Castel teased, poking me in the ribs.  
"Of course. He's part of everyone, is he not? Besides, you're one to talk. You're going to miss Maggie most, are you not?" Castel blushed as he took another jab at my ribs. We both laughed, knowing we would always have each other, no matter where we ended up.

* * *

"Are we's almost done? Ise am starvin and Ise lost feeling in my arms bout an hour ago."  
I mentally groaned at the sound of my former girlfriend's voice. Robin had been one of my birds a few years back, before something had happened to her family and she had to make a run for it. Her parents had been a pair of pickpockets that taught their only daughter how to steal as soon as she could walk. My cousin Nevan had shown up one day with Robin in tow and asked if I could let them stay for a few days. Of course, I couldn't say no to them and a few days turned into months. It was now almost Thanksgiving and they still hadn't left.  
"No. Ise need ta make one more stop. Den we can get some food." I planned to stop by Maggie's and see if she and Ally wouldn't mind having Robin stay over for a few days. I figured they could get a nice break from the kids and Robin would like to have some female company for a change.  
"Torin Conlon, we's are goin ta stop and we's are gonna do it now!"  
"Now Ise remember why we's stopped dating," I muttered to myself. Robin could be very demanding when she wanted. She somehow always got her way. Out loud to Robin, I said "No. We's need ta make one more stop 'fore it gets too dark."  
"Where do youse need ta go? Youse get a new goirl or somethin?"  
"Or somethin," I muttered. It would have been more than something if Robin and Nevan hadn't shown up when they did. As it was, I just figured Race had made his move and that was why Allegra didn't come visit so much. Thinking back on it, I realized I hadn't seen or heard from her or Rooster in several days. Tajo was staying in 'Hattan most of the time now, so I didn't have a clue about what was going on anymore. Just then I saw Race walking past, looking like his best friend had died. "Racetrack!" He walked over, his shoulders slumped. He lifted his head in greeting but didn't say anything. "Youse been by Maggie's lately?" All that got me was another nod. "Youse think she'd mind takin in another guest?"  
"No."  
"Wassa matter wit you?"  
"Ally left."  
I stared in shock. "She left?"  
"Just up and left in da middle of da night. No note or nothin."  
No wonder he looked so sad. I was startled to say the least. "Nobody knows anything?"  
"I knows why dey left. Her papa hired Snyder ta find dem, so she took off wit her brudder in da middle of da night last night."  
"Sorry ta break dis up, but we's need ta go," Robin told Race. She tried to grab my arm and pull me away, but this time I refused to give in.  
"Dat's my friend we're talkin about. We's ain't goin anywhere till Ise finish talkin."  
"Nothin ta say. She didn't care ta stay. Fine della storia. Finito." He glanced up at the clouds that were threatening rain. "Ise gotta go. Good luck wit her." He raised an eyebrow in Robin's direction and left.  
"Ain't he cheerful?" Robin joked. "Where'dja find him?"  
"Can't youse eva be nice?" I snarled, getting tired of her comments. "Dat goirl dat ran off, she's a good friend."  
"Ise can see dat," she muttered sarcastically. "Dey must be good friends. Say, speakin of friends, did youse eva find another goirl afta Ise left?"  
"Come on, we's gotta go." I was not about to tell Robin about Ally. If Robin wanted to hear about that, she was going to need to eat something first.

* * *

"Can youse please let her stay?" I begged Maggie. I lowered my voice and glanced at Robin, who was busy looking around Maggie's place. "Ise need a break from her."  
"I suppose I can take her for a few days. It would be nice to have somebody to help around the house a bit. I assume Race told you about Ally?"  
I nodded. "He upset by it?"  
"You could say that. I just hope he doesn't do something stupid because of it."  
"Youse got any food?" Robin called, walking into the kitchen. "Ise want ta hear 'bout this Ally goirl youse all keep talkin 'bout." She opened the cupboards and started looking for good. Maggie glared at her as I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. This was going to be a long few months.

_**Translations**_

_**Yo creo en ti-I believe in you (Spanish)**_

_**Fine della storia. Finito.-End of story. Finished. (Italian)**_


	17. Letters to Home-Lenmana and Race

_**Panda Bear-Please don't hurt me! I'm afraid you're going to hate me for this chapter, but I just had to write it this way. I promise Ally and Rooster don't stay gone. And I just used Robin's name because I couldn't think of one to put in. I wasn't going to use any characters from the last story, but now that you mentioned it, I kinda like the idea of using them in this story. I can't answer any of your questions about her yet because I only just decided to keep her in the story. I'll figure it out though, so hopefully all your questions get answered. Maggie will regret taking her in for sure. Anyway, please don't hate me for writing this chapter! *Hides from objects being thrown* I'll send you more cookies and fix everything as soon as I can.**_

_**MinnieG-Ally had to leave because...she had to. I don't really know...yeah, it's just...I got nothing. Thanks. I wouldn't say I'm a real author but I'm glad you think I'm a good author and I could be a real one. If I ever become a rich and famous writer I'm going to thank you and Panda Bear for being my cheerleader.**_

_**I own nothing from the movie but own a lot of the other characters. (Ally, Laura, Carey, Ally's family...Maggie and Tajo (even though they don't appear in this chapter...)...so yeah, don't sue me.)**_

Castel and I took the train as far as we could before walking to Mama's people. It was a long walk, but the weather was nice and it was enjoyable and we reached the plains just before the Thanksgiving feast. Our grandmother welcomed us with hugs and kisses.  
"Welcome, little ones. But you are no longer little, no? Cha'akmongwi, you have grown so tall. And Lenmana, you are so beautiful. You must have many men flocking to you." She continued talking as she led us to where we would be sleeping. "Here you are. Set your things down and come join us for the meal. You can get settled after you visit with everyone."  
"Food!" Castel whispered to me as Grandmother left. "I'm so hungry I could eat a whole turkey."  
I giggled. "Not if I get to it first. I could eat two turkeys!"  
"Race you to the food."  
"Naw, I don't-ready set go!" I dropped my bag and took off, giggling the whole way.  
"No fair!" Castel raced after me, quickly catching up to me. We reached the food at the same time, still laughing.

I sat next to my Aunt Cha'Risa and her daughter Chepi. Cha'Rise wanted to know how Mama was doing and Chepi was mostly just interested in boys. Between all their questions I could hardly get a bite in.  
"Are there any boys at your school?" asked Chepi. She was 16, just a few months younger than Castel and I, and much more interested in boys than I was. "Are they cute? Do you want a Spanish boy like your Papa or a Native American one? There are lots of cute boys around here. I could introduce you to them." Chepi looked so hopeful I laughed. She gave me a pleading look, but I shook my head.  
"I would like to meet some of your friends, but I am not interested in meeting boys."  
"How do you know already? Is there a boy in New York? Is he Spanish? No let me guess, he's an Irish boy Uncle Federico disapproves of so you have to meet him in secret."  
"I already know because yes, there is a boy in New York. He's Italian, not Spanish, and Papa hasn't met him. Well, they've met, but he doesn't know."  
"Tell me more!" Chepi squealed. "I want to know everything. How did you meet? What's he like? What's his name?"  
"Antonio Alessandro Higgins. We met at a theatre that I play my flute in and he is the sweetest boy I know, besides Castel." Chepi squealed some more and asked some more questions.  
"Dear, let the poor girl eat," Aunt Cha'Rise interrupted. She turned to me and asked some questions of her own. "How is your Mama doing, dear? Last time she wrote me, she told me you weren't doing well in school. Do you still have troubles reading?"  
I nodded. "The girls tease me something awful when I have to read out loud. I hate it. I only want to play my flute and I don't need to read to do that. Why should I have to go to school?"  
Aunt Cha'Risa patted my arm kindly. "Maybe I can write to that papa of yours and talk some sense into him. What do you say dear? Would you like me to do that?"  
Castel and I turned to each other. We hadn't thought about what to do if someone wrote to Mama and Papa. If someone wrote to them, they would know we were here and they might make us go back home. I turned back and shook my head. "No thank you. I don't want to bother them at all."  
"I should at least write to them and let them know you arrived safely. Do they know you're here?"  
Castel and I shared another look, this time one filled with alarm. What should we do? We couldn't tell our aunt that we were running away, but we couldn't lie. I clearly hadn't planned this adventure very well. I thought hard for a minute before coming up with an idea. "Uhh…it was a last minute trip. Castel and I didn't have time to plan all of the details. But we can write and tell someone that we got here safely. In fact, I will go do that right now." I quickly excused myself and ran outside, breathing hard. That was close. Too close.

* * *

"Dear Race,  
I'm sorry I had to leave without telling you. Please don't be mad. It's hard to explain everything in a letter, but I had to go. I only hope that someday I can explain it to you in person and that you'll forgive me. Until then, I will understand if you don't want me to be your girl anymore. I won't be mad if you hate me or find another girl. Be safe. Te amo."  
The letter was as impossible to read as the last note Ally had sent me, but this time I didn't have Rooster there to help me understand it. This time, I could figure out what she meant without help. She ran away and didn't want to be tied down, probably because she was out meeting plenty of Native American boys right now and she didn't want to feel guilty about leaving me behind. I crumpled the note in my hand and threw it at the wall without looking where I threw it. It bounced off the door and landed at a pair of feet.  
"I hope you weren't aiming for the trash," a startled female voice said. I looked up to see Crutchy and Kid Blink entering with their girlfriends. I waved a greeting to them but didn't reply, not wanting to snap at them. Laura signed something to the others and Carey looked at me. "Yes, what is the matter, Race? Is there news from Ally?"  
"Ise still don't knows where she is, if dat's what youse was askin," I said. I hoped the others didn't think I sounded as close to tears as I thought I did. "And Ise think she broke up wit me."  
"I'm sorry." Laura signed as well as spoke. She had recently decided to try talking as well as signing and I still wasn't used to hearing her voice, which sounded like she had a pile of stones in her mouth.  
"It's okay." I tried making the signs as I spoke. I was one of the few newsies who didn't know many signs, as I had always been busy teaching Ally English when Laura had been teaching everyone signs. Thankfully Laura and Carey were never far apart, so if I ever needed help, I didn't have to look far.  
"Youse know, Ise kinda miss hearin Rooster's cries in da mornin," Blink said, climbing up on his bunk and hanging his head over the edge. "It feels strange wakin up witout all da noise. Ise still ain't use ta it, even afta two weeks."  
I flopped backwards on my bed, leaning my head over the edge as well so I could see Blink's face. "Ise know. Ise still wake up expectin ta hear da bummer sayin he's sorry and didn't mean ta."  
"Does he really sound like a rooster?" Carey giggled. "I've never met anyone that does that."  
"He don't sound like a rooster, he sounds like a whole flock of dem," Crutchy said, sitting next to Carey and putting an arm around her shoulders. "He talks in his sleep too. Says all kinds of interesting things." I smiled slightly as everyone laughed. It was true; Rooster didn't even stop talking in his sleep. One night when some of us couldn't sleep, we gathered around his bed and had a whole conversation with him while he slept. We brought it up the next morning, but he didn't remember a word of it. Ally had laughed until she cried when I had told her that day. Ally…  
I suddenly frowned, remembering that she was gone and I wouldn't be able to tell her stories like that. Laura noticed and put a hand on my shoulder. I couldn't stop the tear that started trickling down my face and wiped it away before anyone noticed. Apparently I was too late because Carey also came over and put a hand on my shoulder.  
"It's okay to cry. We know you miss her and we won't think less of you if you need to cry."  
I didn't bother to stop the next tear that fell. I sat up and faced the girls kneeling on the floor. "She didn't say good-bye. Ise thought Ise meant more ta her den dat, but she left in da middle of da night witout even a good-bye note. Not dat anyone could read it…" With that, the dam broke and a flood of tears came out. No one said anything; Carey and Laura just patted my back as Blink and Crutchy went outside to make sure nobody came in.

When I finally cried all my tears, Carey handed me something to blow my nose on and Laura went to the door to let the boys back in. I was surprised to see a whole group of them. I hadn't realized how late it was. Looking out the window, I could see it was already dark.  
"Youse okay?" Jack asked as he walked past. I just nodded, not trusting my voice yet. Boots and Snipeshooter patted my back as they walked and Skittery-in an unusual move-gave me a smile. He held out his hand silently, holding a bright green ribbon that had belonged to Ally.  
"Ise went ta Medda's today. Dat friend of hers said she left it behind and thought youse would want it." I looked at him and he shrugged. "Wat?"  
I shook my head and took the ribbon. "Nothin. Just…thanks. It means a lot."  
"Don't mention it. Ise got a reputation ya knows." I actually laughed as I nodded. It felt good to have friends that would stick around and not ask questions when I needed them.

_**The only translation is Te amo, which means I love you. Now go hit that review button and tell me how awesome you thought this chapter was!**_


	18. Missing Her-Spot and Race

_**Tif S-Welcome back! I was beginning to wonder where you had gone to. Yes, Allegra admits the truth at last. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**_

_**MinnieG-Thank you so much! You're seriously going to inflate my ego so much I won't be able to fit through doors anymore. (LOL!) But seriously, you flatter me so much. I always love getting emails saying you reviewed because it always makes me smile how much you love the story. I'm glad you're enjoying all the emotions in the story. Honestly, I get so involved in writing the story I forget the characters are all just in my mind. I keep having to remind myself there's no point in waiting for a Racetrack because I almost find myself falling in love with him along with Ally.**_

_**Panda Bear-THANK YOU FOR NOT HURTING OR KILLING ME! I really am sorry for breaking his heart again. I have a terrible habit of breaking hearts, don't I? Oh well, at least so far they always end up getting fixed and it ends happily. I'll send you fresh baskets of cookies until such a time when the plot allows me to make Racetrack happy. By the way, two SPOT-headed people? As in, they're both like Spot? Or you typed Spot but meant hot-headed? And yes, Ally had to leave without saying good-bye. I don't know why, she just did. Anyway, please enjoy the fresh batch of virtual cookies I have sent.**_

_**I love all of my regular reviewers and have decided to send you all cookies just for the heck of it. Please enjoy them as you enjoy this chapter and review at the end.**_

_**P.S. I own Ally, Rooster, Tajo, Maggie, Robin, Laura, and Carey, but nothing from the movie. Or any quotes that I may or may not have used.**_

"Spot! Dis is wonderful! Thank you." Robin ran up to me, dripping wet, and gave me a huge hug. Together we fell backwards into the sand, laughing and wrestling.  
"Ise love you, Robin," I told her when we had stopped. We were just lying in the sand next to each other. I had gotten us a ride in Roosevelt's carriage and took her to the ocean, just like she always wanted. Pulling me to my feet, she kissed me.  
"Last one ta da water is a dirty, rotten scabber!" she called back to me as she ran back to the water.

I woke up with a start, not quite sure where I was. Looking around me, I saw people sleeping on bunks and heard some of them snoring. I slowly realized I was in the Brooklyn Lodging house. I had just been dreaming of Robin. That had been the last time we had laughed together, I thought as I lay back down. After that day, we began fighting all the time. She wanted more and more of my attention and after a while it began to get tiring. When I told Robin she either had to stop or we were through, she took it hard and turned from the sweet girl she was to the nasty girl she was now. I should really explain this to Maggie, I thought as I drifted back to sleep.

"Nice ta see youse," Robin greeted me the next day with a nasty expression on her face. Tajo had gone to visit Maggie and I decided to go with him and see if I could talk to Robin. She looked a bit angry and I wondered what I had done this time.  
"Now wat?" I gritted my teeth, trying my best not to yell at her in front of Maggie's younger siblings.  
"Allegra." Robin made it sound like Allegra was the plague or something.  
"Ise can see we's need ta talk." Gently grabbing her, I guided Robin towards the fire escape and sat her down. "Now, wat about Allegra?"  
"Ise hoird youse kissed her."  
I looked pointedly at Robin. "Wat business of yours is dat?"  
"Ise thought Ise meant more ta youse den dat." Robin looked down as a tear fell. I had only seen her cry twice and both times were because I hadn't realized she liked me. To see her cry again because of me made me feel sad.  
"Hey, don't cry," I whispered. "Don't cry. Youse do mean more ta me den dat." I wrapped her in a hug, softly whispering until she stopped crying.  
"Den why did youse kiss da other goirl?" she sniffled. "Why didn't youse wait for me?"  
"Ise did wait for youse. But Ise got tired of waitin for youse ta decide if youse wanted ta be wit me or Nevan."  
"It's my fault youse broke up wit me?"  
I threw my hands up. "Ise ain't tryin ta blame anybody! Ise told youse Ise didn't like how much time youse wanted ta spend wit me and asked youse ta back off."  
"Youse told me Ise had ta back off or we were done."  
"Because Ise wanted youse ta leave me alone! Youse neva listened ta me so Ise had ta make a deal."  
"So den it's your fault Ise turned ta your cousin."  
"Fine," I cried in exasperation. "Fine, it's my fault! It's always my fault. Ise sorry Ise said anything and Ise sorry Ise broke your heart. Anything else youse want me ta apologize for?" Without waiting for an answer, I stormed through the house and over to the Manhattan Lodging house.

I walked in to see Laura and Carey sitting on bunks with their respective boyfriends. Carey and Crutchy were giggling about who knew what and Laura was helping Blink with his sign language. I was surprised to see the girls there, not having heard from them since Robin and I had left earlier that summer. Laura caught sight of me and ran over, giving me a hug.  
"_Spot! What brings you here? I thought you and Robin had gone for a trip?"  
_"We did. Things…dey didn't turn out so well. Robin and Ise…"  
"_I'm sorry."  
_"Thank youse." She gave me a hug before returning to Blink's side. He kissed the side of her head and she grinned, putting her arms around him in a side hug. I watched the two of them, feeling the smallest pang of jealousy. I wasn't jealous that Laura had a boyfriend anymore; I had gotten over that months ago. It was more that she and Blink were still together and still very happy. Shaking it off, I joined Crutchy and Carey on Crutchy's bunk, hoping to cheer myself up by being with the happy couples.

* * *

When I came into the LH late that night, Spot was just walking out. We nodded at each other in passing. We hadn't really spoken much to each other since the night Ally and I had started dating. I didn't blame him; in a way I had kind of taken his girl, though from what I heard his former girlfriend kept him busy enough that we didn't fight about it, which was good for me. Reaching the bunkroom, I stopped short at the site that greeted me. Feathers were flying around the room as Crutchy, Carey, Blink, and Laura swatted each other with pillows. I stood there gaping, until someone hit me with a pillow. Grabbing the nearest one, I joined the fray.  
"Heya Race," Crutchy greeted when we finally collapsed, laughing and panting. "Youse go ta da track today?"  
"Yeah. Remember dat hot tip Ise told youse about? Nobody-"  
"-told da horse," everyone finished for me.  
"Wat bout youse guys? Wat did youse do?"  
Laura handed me a piece of paper and I looked at it. It was an invitation to a wedding. I looked at it closer as I read the names.  
"Daniel Davidson and Laura Mae Martin?" I looked up at them. "Youse-?"  
She and Blink nodded, glowing. They looked so happy that I almost wanted to wipe the smiles off their faces. I forced myself to smile and congratulate them, even though I suddenly felt like crying.

That night as I lay in bed, I let my mind think about Ally. I rarely let myself do that, because if I did, I would spend the night crying myself to sleep and wouldn't be able to function properly for a week. I had taken Ally's green hair ribbon and tied it to my pocketwatch so I would always have a reminder of her. Sometimes at night, when I couldn't sleep, I would take it out and play with it. It still smelled like lilacs and the scent always soothed me. Tonight, I took it out again and breathed the scent in deeply. I had been missing Ally a lot that day and holding the ribbon made me feel closer to her.  
"Perché hai dovuto lasciare?" I whispered into the darkness, speaking in Italian the way I so often would with her. A tear slowly trickled down my cheek and I let it fall. Soon I was silently crying and I buried my face in my pillow. "Mi manchi," I whispered just before falling asleep, hoping she would somehow hear me, wherever she was.

_**Translations**_

_**Perché hai dovuto lasciare?-Why did you leave me? (Or something along those lines...it's Italian so if you want an exact translation look it up)**_

_**Mi manchi-I miss you. (Also Italian)**_


	19. Letter Writing-Race and Lenmana

_**This chapter doesn't really have much to do with the plot of the story, other than just to kind of help the plot move along. It's just a bunch of letters I imagined that the characters would write. I'm not totally sure if they would have really sent the letters, but I wrote them as if they were sent...so let's just go with that. Anyway, it's more of a filler chapter anyway, so I hope you like it.**_

_**Read, review, and soak up the awesome-sauce!**_

Dear Ally,  
I miss you. I think about you every night as I fall asleep. You're always in my dreams and during the day, I don't stop thinking about you. I love you so much, it hurts every time I think about the fact that you're gone. I spent most of my nights crying myself to sleep and my days wishing I knew where you were so I could be with you. Why did you leave without even saying good-bye?  
Racetrack

* * *

Dear Antonio,  
I'm so sorry I left without a word. I'm so sorry I hurt you by doing that. I didn't know what to think, so I just left. I cry in the night, thinking about how hurt you must feel. But thinking about you gives me strength to do what I have to do in order for us to be together forever one day. Please forgive me. Te amo.  
Ally

* * *

Dear Maggie,  
Allegra is making me write a letter to you. She thinks it will be good for me to work on my English so that I don't forget any of it. (Pay him no mind! He misses you something awful. He whines about you every morning…) Are you done writing my letter for me? Pay that girl no mind. I don't.  
She is right though. I do miss you something awful. I'm very sorry for what we did, but it was the only way. Please don't be mad at me. I'm going to return one day and we will have fun. (And never stop your gosh-awful chattering…)  
Ally misses you something awful too. I'm going to go help her write her own letter to you. Tell the boys hi and give the girls a kiss from their Uncle Rooster.  
Castel

* * *

Dear Maggie,  
Castel insisted I write you my own letter. I miss you much. You are my closest friend, even counting my twin. (Hey! Do you want my help or not?) Okay, Castel and you are both my closest friend. Please tell Race not to be mad at me. Tell him…tell him I love him and that I think of him every day. (Tell him nothing of the sort! I am the only boy in my hermano's life and always will be!)  
Give the girls a kiss for me and sing them their favorite lullaby.  
Ally

* * *

Dear Allegra,  
Why did you have to leave? Nothing is the same with you gone. The twins don't mind me like they mind you and the girls keep insisting on waiting for you to return for a lullaby before bed. The band isn't the same without you either. I miss having a good friend to practice with. Medda says to hurry home because she doesn't want to replace her second best flute player. I am still the best flute player. Tell that hermano of yours that I miss him something awful as well. Don't let him get away with any bull poo.  
Please hurry back. Everyone misses you.  
Maggie

* * *

Dear Castel,  
It's Christmas time in New York and I'm very sad. I wanted to show you Manhattan at Christmas and let you take me to a Christmas flicker. You should see Medda's. It's all prepared for the season and there's plenty of mistletoe. I wish you were here. Why did you have to leave?  
Maggie

* * *

Dear Ally,  
Today I passed Medda's and thought of you. I missed you so much that I cried for an hour and Ariana and Caelyn were worried. They thought I had received bad news from you. Please come back.  
Race

* * *

Dear Race,  
I can't come back. Not yet. But I think about you every day. Tell the girls that I'm doing well and I miss them. They're always in my thoughts, as are you. If they ask about me, tell them I will always be there in spirit to sing them to sleep.  
My cousin Chepi keeps asking me to go with her boy friends on a date. I tell them my heart belongs to you.  
Ally

* * *

Dear Ally,  
Maggie told us we could write a letter to you. Where are you? Why did you leave? Boyden and Darien are very mean today. Maggie and Tajo say it's because they miss you. When are you coming back? We miss your singing. Can you sing a lullaby for us tonight? It makes us feel happy that you think of us.  
Ariana and Caelyn

* * *

Dear Ariana and Caelyn,  
Te echo de menos, mis angelitos. I am with people who are very important to me, but not as important as you. I had to leave. I can't tell you why just yet, but one day I will return and explain it to you. I sing a lullaby for you every night before I go to sleep.  
Tell your brothers to behave themselves. If they don't listen, pull their ears.  
Ally

* * *

Dear Ally,  
Maggie took the girls shopping today. I went with them and saw a hair ribbon. It made me think of you and I almost bought it before I remembered you aren't here. Te amo. Si prega di tornare di corsa.  
Race

* * *

Dear Antonio,  
Today I saw a boy wearing a vest like yours and I cried. I miss you so much. I help my grandmamma make clothing for her people. I made a gift for you. I plan to save it so that I have to return to New York and give it to you.  
Ally

_**Translations**_

_**Te amo-I love you (Spanish and Italian)**_

_**Te echo de menos, mis angelitos-I miss you, my little angels (Spanish)**_

_**Si prega di tornare di corsa-Please hurry back (Italian)**_

_**I think that's all I used. If I missed one just use Google Translate or review and let me know so I can fix it.**_


	20. Wedding Talk-Racetrack

_**AHHH! I made both of my lovely reviewer cry! NO! AHH! AHH! *Looks around wildly* Here, have some chocolate ice cream and double chocolate cookies. Hold this cute stuffed animal. You can't be sad while eating chocolate and holding a cute animal, right?! RIGHT?!**_

_**Panda Bear-Song time! This chapter has the long-awaited song in it. I just hope it works well enough for you. It is sad to see Race so upset. Hopefully it won't be much longer and he'll be happy again. Of course Ally is coming back. I don't know when, but I know for sure she'll come back. It was always part of the plot. As for Spot and Robin, they do need some couples counselling. I'll see to it that they get some help and sort things out. You're right, two people like Spot wouldn't work out very well. Similar, yes, but not exactly the same. I'm thinking someone needs to either have a good talk with Robin and sort her out or Spot needs to find a new girl. I'm not sure which is going to happen yet, but we shall see.**_

_**MinnieG-I'm sorry you cried so much! Sadly, I don't think Ally will be coming back just yet. But the good news is that this chapter isn't too sad (I don't think) and things will get better soon!**_

_**So I don't any of the characters from Newsies. If I did, do you really think this story would be on here? No, not likely. I think it would be a movie. (Or maybe not. But either way this story still wouldn't be on here if I did own Newsies.)**_

"My lovey-dovey baby  
I boo-hoo-hoo for you  
I used to be your tootsie-wootsie  
Then you said toodley-doo."  
The sound of Medda's voice filled my ears as I walked in. I could hear Maggie playing the slow melody over Medda's singing. It was just after Christmas and there was snow everywhere, but still no Ally. I had stopped crying at night all the time, but I still missed her. I thought of her every time Medda sang this song. It was a crowd favorite though, and it fit how I felt these days.  
"I miss the hanky-panky  
Each nighty-night till three  
Come back, my lovey-dovey baby  
And coochie-coo with me."  
I caught Maggie's eye and motioned to the back of the theatre. She barely nodded her head and turned her attention back to the song. I hid in the background and managed to sell a few papes to people in the crowd. When I had sold my last pape, I took a seat and waited for Maggie to come out front.  
"My lovey-dovey baby  
I boo-hoo-hoo for you  
I used to be your tootsies-wootsie  
Then you said toodley-doo."  
The song finally ended and I sighed in relief. The twins came over and begged me to play with them until Maggie was ready.  
"Please? We's want ta play poker but it ain't as much fun as when you play."  
"Okay, but just one game. Ise don't want your sista ta get mad at me for teachin youse ta play poker."  
"She just says not ta play wit real money."  
We ended up playing five games before Maggie came out with the girls in tow. They gave me big hugs and started talking about the latest letter from Ally.  
"…and she sent us ribbons too. Auntie Ally told us to tell you she loves you. Are you gonna marry her?"  
"Uhhh…" I looked at Maggie for help, not sure how to answer that. "Well, uh…Ise…dat depends. Ain't youse too young ta be askin dat?"  
"Girls, get your shawls on. It's time to go home."  
"Thank you," I mouthed to Maggie as she handed the twins their coats and started herding them to the door. She smiled at me, giving a shake of her head.

* * *

"Speaking of weddings," Maggie said as we walked home, "did you get an invitation to Blink and Laura's?"  
I nodded. "Blink asked me if Ise would be part of the wedding."  
"That's wonderful! Now all we need is for Ally to come home so she can be part of the special day. I talked with Laura about music that day and she wants Ally and I to play as she comes down the aisle."  
"Ise didn't know Laura knew Ally dat well."  
"Well, Ally doesn't know her that well. They've only met a few times, but Laura knows how good Ally is at flute and she thought it would be fun to come down the aisle to the sound of flutes. Not that she can hear it. Oh, that wasn't a nice thing to say. But you know what I meant, right Race? Anyway, I let Laura and her friend live with me for a few weeks until they found their own place. She's as good as Ally with the children."  
I half listened as Maggie kept chattering. It didn't surprise me much that Laura would want Allegra to play at her wedding. Ally was good at her music and she was as friendly as Laura, easily making people like her without much effort. I felt a small hand slip into mine and looked down at Ariana's face. She smiled sweetly at me and handed me a folded piece of paper, tied with a green ribbon.  
"Wat's dis?"  
"A letter from Auntie Ally. She asked me to give it to you. I think you should wait for me to be growed up so we can marry, but Mama Maggie says that you love Auntie Ally. I love Auntie Ally too, so I guess if you love her then it's okay if you marry her. Then you could really be our uncle."  
I had to smile at the little girl. She looked a bit like an angel, with long dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes. No wonder Ally loved her. "Ise think you should have fun growing up before youse think 'bout gettin married."  
"That's what Mama Maggie and Auntie Ally say. When I do get growed up enough, I want to marry someone like you." She started humming to herself and skipped ahead to walk with Caelyn. I watched her for a while before feeling a pair of eyes on me. I turned to see Maggie smirking at me.  
"Wat? She's a cute kid. Ise like her."  
"What does the letter say?"  
"Dat's none of your business." I tucked it away, planning to read in private.

* * *

When we reached Maggie's, we saw Spot sitting on the steps waiting for us. Maggie quickly hurried the kids in as I faced Spot.  
"Wat'd youse do dat for?" he asked as soon as we were alone.  
"Do wat? Ise ain't done nothin. Least, nothin dat Ise know of."  
"Robin says youse tried ta kiss her."  
"Yeah? Well Robin lied. I ain't in da habit of kissin odder people's goirls." I pushed past him, heading inside.  
"Youse kissed Allegra." I stopped short at the words. "Ise hear things from boirds. Dey all say youse kissed Allegra several times."  
"Dat's wat people do when dey's in a relationship," I hissed. Where did Spot get off spying on me? "Dey kiss. Youse should know; youse have kissed how many goirls?"  
"Dat's not your business!"  
"Why is who Ise kiss your business? Youse come ova here and question me but youse can't even handle your own goirl!"  
Spot glared at me. "Don't talk bout my goirl dat way!"  
"Robin ain't your goirl, is she? If youse want my advice, youse should sit down wit Robin and fix dat relationship before youse spy on me. Besides, Ally ain't your goirl either. Youse were a bit too late for dat one."  
Spot tried to punch me, but I dodged easily out of the way. "Ise would have fought youse for herr, but Ise was too busy. Ise don't think youse is da right man for her."  
"No, youse is just jealous dat Laura is gettin married ta Blink and upset dat Robin ain't your goirl dat youse decided Ally is da right goirl because she ain't a part of your past." I dared Spot with my eyes to challenge that. He managed to sputter out a few incoherent sentences before storming off, calling over his shoulder "Dat's ridiculous! Dat ain't true and dis ain't ova!"  
"Dat's right it ain't!" I yelled back. "Dat was just da start!"

* * *

"Dear Race,  
I hope this letter finds you well. Did you have a merry Christmas? Mama's people tried to make it special, but it wasn't the same. I have sent a present for you in the mail. It should arrive soon. I think you will very much enjoy it.  
Te amo, Ally"  
I read Ally's letter in bed that night before I fell asleep. After reading several of her letters, I was able to figure out what she was saying despite her terrible writing. She always ended her letters by saying she loved me. It made me feel slightly better that she still cared, even though she had taken off. I smiled sadly at the letter as I folded it and put it with the stack of letters from Ally I kept near my pillow. Blink stuck his head over the bunk and watched me.  
"Youse think she'll come back before da wedding?" he asked.  
"Ise hope so. Ise think she'd be happy to play for youse. Youse is a lucky man, youse know dat?"  
"Yup." Blink grinned happily at me. "Ise da luckiest man in da world. Ise tell myself dat every mornin." He pulled his head back up and hummed to himself as he lay down. I kicked his mattress but smiled. It was hard to be sad around a happy Blink. I rolled over and closed my eyes, hoping one day I could be as happy as him.


	21. Fight or Flight-Spot and Lenmana

_**MinnieG-You made my day! For some reason there was no email saying you reviewed so I looked at the reviews and saw yours. It made me happy to see someone had reviewed! Anyway, thanks. I thought it would be cute to have Ariana tell Race she wanted to marry him. I imagine her as this cute little girl that everyone loves. If she were real, I bet she would grow up and be this really cute girl that everyone loves and is really popular but not spoiled or anything. I also thought it would be cute to add that in there. Yeah, Spot's a bit territorial. I think he'd get in a lot of spots with the cops and stuff and that's part of how he got his name. Then again, I also think he's the kind of guy that's protective of girls and the people he cares about. Which I guess could lead to being a bit territorial, which could lead to getting into spots...maybe his head got so inflated from being king that he forgot not everyone likes that...**_

_**Anyway, I don't own Newsies. I do own my owe characters though. So what are you waiting for? Go read this chapter!**_

"Why'd youse lie ta me?" I demanded of Robin. I was furious at Robin for lying to me about kissing Race. Right after I had talked to him, I had stormed back to Brooklyn and sought out Robin. She was laying on my bunk, a smug look on her face.  
"Ise knew it would make youse jealous." She jumped down and faced me. "Ise was tryin ta prove a point and Ise just did."  
"Wat point was dat?"  
"Dat youse neva really liked me and dat youse care more bout dose Manhattan goirls den me."  
I stared at her, wondering where this was coming from. "Wat are youse talkin about? If Ise didn't like youse, why would Ise take youse ta see da ocean?"  
"Youse is good wit woirds. Youse know wat ta say ta make goirls fall in love wit youse. Sides, youse've been spending so much time lookin for dat Allegra goirl youse haven't been payin me no mind."  
"Ise have not!" I had been looking around for Allegra, but not as much as I could have been. "Youse showed up long before she left and Ise spent all dat time wit youse instead of wit her. If youse hadn't shown up when youse did, she'd be my goirl by now!"  
"So youse do like her!"  
"Yes. No! Yes. Ise don't know!" I threw my hands in the air and sighed. "My feelins are all mixed up now. Ise did like her at first, but den youse showed up and Ise don't know how Ise feel anymore."  
"Why does everybody blame da goirl?" Robin planted her feet and put her hands on her hips, glaring at me. "It ain't always da goirl's fault if da boy can't decide how he feels."  
Instead of answering her, I put my hands on her shoulders and kissed her. I wasn't really sure why I did it, but it seemed like the right thing to do in the heat of the moment. She didn't pull back, just kissed me right back. The sound of the door opening pulled us apart. Nevan walked in, looking amused.  
"Don't stop on account of me," he told us, laughter in his voice. Robin and I both blushed wildly, not looking at each other. A girl with very blond hair followed him and he smiled at her. "Dis is Killian Adrian. She's my good friend."  
Robin glared at her. "Ise'm Robin, dat's my man, and Ise don't like youse."  
"Bridget Killarney!" Nevan, Killian, and I all looked at Robin, shocked.  
"That was rude." Killian stated. She didn't sound mad though, just shocked. "But I'm going to try and forgive you for that. It's very nice to meet you too. Do you prefer Robin or Bridget?"  
Robin ignored Killian's outstretched hand. "Ise prefer neither, comin from youse."  
"Okay then. Is there a name you prefer I call you?"  
"Where'd youse find dis goirl?" Robin asked Nevan, turning to him.  
"I found him," Killian responded before Nevan could open his mouth. "My family happens to be old friends with Nevan's. We grew up together."  
Robin shook her head in disgust as she walked out of the Lodging house without a word. Killian laughed as Nevan and I shook our heads. "She's a fiery one, isn't she? Whoever marries her will have their hands full." For some reason, both Killian and Nevan looked at me as she said that.  
"Don't look at me. We's ain't a couple."  
"Sure. That's what they all say." They followed Robin out the door and left me scratching my head.

* * *

"Please?" Chepi begged me. She wanted me to go with her to the town near the reserve with her and meet up with some friends. Actually, she wanted to meet a boy there but my aunt Cha'Risa had said no. The only way my cousin could go now was if I agreed to go with her and meet her friends as well. "I really want to meet this boy. I think he likes me. I know I really like him and I want to see if he asks me to be his girl. Besides, Toby's friend Vincent was asking about you. You should go meet him again. He really likes you."  
"But I don't care about him." I kept working on the moccasins I was making. My plan was to finish two pairs and send them back to New York for Boyden and Darien's birthday in a few months. I had made a vest for Racetrack and several other gifts for my friends there. "You know my heart-"  
"-belongs to another. Yeah yeah, I've heard it all before. But you're here and he's there. Why wait around for him? He didn't come after you, did he?"  
"My sister is the most loyal girl you will ever know," Castel told Chepi as he entered the tent. "She is also the most stubborn. If she says no, she means no. Lenmana only cares about Racetrack and she will not be going into town with you to meet another boy."  
Chepi pouted, but neither Castel or I gave in. Finally Chepi seemed to accept it and silently walked outside. I smiled gratefully at Castel.  
"Thank you," I told him. "I owe you."  
"Yes you do," Castel told me, kissing my forehead in a brotherly way. "Don't be forgetting that. I will collect it from you one day soon."

* * *

Castel collected his favor from me the next week. It was late January now, and the roads were still very much covered in snow. Castel wanted me to come ice fishing with him. I wasn't really sure why, because only the men went ice fishing. The women never went; they always stayed at camp and took care of things there.  
"I just want to spend time with my favorite sister," he said when he was asked about it. After much talk, it was decided that I would be allowed to go with my brother, and we set out for a full day of ice fishing. "I've been thinking," Castel told me as we walked.  
"Thinking? That's dangerous," I joked. "You should have warned me. I would have stayed at home."  
"Na-Na, I'm serious. I've been thinking about New York. I think we should write to Mama and Papa. Maybe by now they'll be ready to listen and we can talk to them about school."  
I sighed as I set my things down at the edge of the river. "I don't know Castel. Maybe they will be. But what if they're not? Then what?"  
"I didn't think of that," Castel admitted. We set up our things and settled down to fish. We spent most of the day outside fishing. We alternated between talking about home, talking about Maggie and Racetrack, and sitting in silence. Chepi came out later in the evening and brought us something to eat. She had brought some food for herself to eat and sat with us. Just before she left, she pointed down the river at two figures.  
"Who are they? Do you know them?"  
Castel and I looked up. "I don't know them," he said.  
"I don't think…no wait, I think I do. That taller man is Mr Snyder! He was the one Mama and Papa asked to find us! Castel, we need to go! He found us!"  
"What?" Castel and Chepi looked confused as I hurriedly gathered our stuff in my arms.  
"I can't explain! Just grab your things and run! Let's go!" Mr Snyder and the other man had noticed us. They started coming after us as we ran. "Oh no! They saw us! What do we do!"  
"I know a faster way to go!" Castel told us. He ran across the river. "It's this way! Follow me!"  
I followed him, slipping on the ice. Halfway across, I slipped on a particularly icy spot and fell. My ankle turned and I screamed in pain. Chepi hauled me up and tried to help me. We had almost reached the edge when the ice cracked and I fell through.  
"Castel! Castel, come back!" Chepi yelled. "Lenmana's hurt!"  
"No! Go after him!" I told her as I struggled to climb out of the water. "I can't walk on my foot anyway. I'll only slow you down. Find Castel and help him get away!"  
"I won't leave you," Chepi said as she pulled me out. She put an arm around my shoulder and we managed to start moving again.  
"Lenmana! Chepi!"  
"Over here!" Castel came crashing through the forest that was near the river. "We're over here. Len's hurt."  
I was a bit surprised that Chepi had remembered the childhood nickname she had given me, but I quickly shook it off. "I hurt my ankle. You two go ahead."  
"What about you?" my brother asked. "We can't leave you."  
"I can hide in a tree. Once the men leave, I'll just climb down and make my way back. Go!" I gave them a push towards the forest and headed for the nearest tree. My foot hurt at even the slightest pressure, but I made myself keep climbing.  
"Where did they go?" I could hear Mr Snyder talking to the other man right below the tree I was in. I froze and listened to them. "I saw the girl fall."  
"I think they went through the forest," the shorter man said. "But if the girl is hurt, they can't have gotten far." They kept talking and in my cold, wet, and sore state, it felt like hours before they moved. I waited a few extra minutes to make sure they had left before starting to make my way down. I had only climbed a few branches before I heard a crack; looking around, I realized it was the one I was sitting on. I slowly tried shifting my weight off the branch, but it cracked even more. Suddenly I was falling through the air with no way to stop myself. I hit the ground with a thump and everything went black.

_**No translations in this one. What do you guys think of Killian so far? Do you think she'd be good as a possible love interest for Spot? Let me know what you think in a review.**_

_**Speaking of reviews, go make friends with that review button. It's gettin lonely down there all by itself.**_


	22. Lost and Found-Lenmana and Race

_**Panda Bear-You're really not even in high school yet? I seriously thought you'd in high school. Wow, you sound VERY mature. (But don't worry, I won't take you less seriously. For some reason I see you as being more mature than me and I'm done college. Plus I try not to judge people without really knowing them.) Anyway, yeah, Robin's getting kind of annoying with all her fighting and stuff. Someone needs to have a sit-down with her and explain things. Snyder is back, and being the scabber we all know and don't love. This chapter will answer your questions about Snyder getting Ally. When you go to that dance, make sure you save one slow dance and pretend you're dancing with Race at Medda's. When your friends ask you what you're doing, tell them you're dancing with the best newsie in the world and ask which one they'd like to dance with. Then come home and tell me about their faces. And don't worry about not liking any of the guys. At that age, they're all stupid anyways.**_

_**ZabuzasGirl-Welcome to the awesome craziness that is my story. Okay, I don't know how awesome you think it is, but it's my story, which is part of my world, and my world is crazy. At least I think it is, but I enjoy every minute of it. I hope you do too.**_

_**Now, if I owned Newsies, do you really think I would be writing this story? If you answered yes...well, you might still be right. But I don't. If I did own Newsies, there would be so much more Newsies out there it wouldn't be funny. I do, however, own Castel, Chepi, and Lenmana/Allegra, plus any other of my own characters that appear in this story. (Most of them aren't in this chapter, but I don't feel like trying to remember who they all are.)**_

I woke up in a dark cave. I didn't know how or when I had gotten there. I didn't even know what day it was. I only knew three things; that I was cold, I was hungry, and I was in pain. I thought I was alone, but since I didn't even know where I was, I couldn't be sure that somebody wasn't just outside. The sound of voices coming towards me made me sit up. I got about halfway up before the pain became too much and I had to lie back down with a groan. I tried to muffle the sound as much as possible to keep myself from being found.  
"We can't move her. She's not strong enough."  
"So we'll carry her."  
"All the way to New York? Chepi, we can't do it. She has to rest."  
"I've spent my entire life on these plains. I know how to make a sled to carry her. I know many ways to help her heal as we move. If you want to get your sister to safety, I say we move her tonight, before those men find this cave. And mark my words, they _will_ find her by the noon meal tomorrow, unless we move _now_."  
The voices stopped for a minute. During that time, I tried to process what I had heard. The first voice had sounded male. The other voice-Chepi-was female. Wait, I thought to myself. Chepi. My cousin. She was in this cave. That must mean the other voice belongs to Castel. But what did they mean they couldn't move her? I realized the voices were speaking again.  
"Maybe we could try it. But she needs to see a doctor. A real doctor. I know something about medicine, but not enough to really help her. If we do move her, we need to go slowly. Our best bet would be to move during the night." Chepi started to protest, but Castel stopped her. "It's the best way. We'll be covered by the darkness of night and those men won't be able to see where we go. They'll have to follow our tracks by day. Hopefully we'll be able to find good enough hiding spots that it throws them off our trail."  
The voices stopped again as blackness overtook me once more.

* * *

Next time I woke, Castel was gently shaking me. "Na-Na, wake up. You need to open your eyes for me. Na-Na, please."  
I slowly opened my eyes and blinked. Everything was fuzzy and my entire body still hurt; it felt like a herd of horses was running over my head. The pain was so bad I had to roll over and empty my stomach. Fortunately, there wasn't much in my stomach to empty and I quickly stopped vomiting. I rolled back over, ignoring the pain as much as possible.  
"What…happened?" I managed to croak out. "Where are we?"  
"That man you saw…"  
"Snyder?"  
"Si. He found us as we were ice fishing. We had to run." Castel explained what happened after we were separated. I had fallen from the tree I was hiding in. Castel and Chepi found a cave to hide in but were worried when I didn't show up. They went back to the camp, but I wasn't there either. A search party had been sent out; almost a week later they found me still unconscious underneath the tree, nearly frozen to death. Chepi had somehow managed to convince the search party to let her and Castel take me back. At the first chance they had, they started running in the direction they thought New York was. That had been a whole month ago. We were now being followed by Mr. Snyder and a man Castel told me was called Mr. Wisel. They were right on our tails and it was almost impossible to move without being seen by them.  
"You were hurt badly," Chepi told me. "Your ankle is broken in two places and you hit your head hard when you landed. And your hand-"  
"Chepi, can you help me get some more fire wood?" Castel interrupted her, giving her a look I didn't understand. She looked at him, confused.  
"What? She needs to know. She'll find out anyway; why not tell her now and-"  
"Chepi!" Castel glared at her. I had never seen him so angry and it surprised me.  
"Okay!" She left the cave in a huff.  
"Castel, what was she about to tell me?"  
Castel didn't answer me. He set about pulling out medical supplies and changing my many bandages. I hadn't realized how many I had until just now. My left leg was wrapped up all the way to the knee and my left arm was wrapped all the way up to my shoulder. I had so many cuts, scrapes, and bruises I wondered if there was any part of me that was uninjured.  
"Castel? What's wrong with my hand? What happened?"  
"I don't rightly know," he finally said. "I didn't see what happened, but you managed to hurt your hand badly when you fell. I don't know how bad it is and I don't think I will until you see a real doctor."  
"Don't lie to me, hermano. I know it's bad. How bad is it really?"  
Castel's face clouded over and he looked at me sadly. "I really don't know. It's bad though. You may not be able to play your flute again." He kept talking, but I stopped listening. Not play my flute? I couldn't imagine that. It would almost be like not breathing again. I was so lost in my thoughts of not playing again that I didn't notice when Mr. Snyder entered the cave.  
"Hello, children," he said, smirking. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

* * *

"Race! Racetrack! Wake up!" Someone's voice hissed in my ear and the person started shaking my shoulders.  
"Go away!" I muttered sleepily, putting my hand out and shoving the person away from me. "Ise sleepin."  
"Wake up, youse scabber!"  
I threw my pillow at them and rolled over. I was dreaming about Ally and nobody was going to wake me up from that. A body landing on me told me otherwise. "Wassa matta wit youse?" I groaned, pushing what looked like Spot Conlon's body off me. I had no idea why he was here. After our fight about Ally a month and a half ago, we had hardly spoken. When we did, it was mostly to fight about her. Those fights usually ended with me somehow telling him to deal with Robin or Spot telling me that since Ally had left, she didn't care about me. So far nobody had managed to make us stop our fighting. "Why is youse here?"  
"It's Ally," he whispered. "She's-"  
"Git off me!" I gave Spot another push and sent him crashing to the ground. I sat up and glared at him. "Stop whisperin. Ise can't hear youse. Wat about Ally?"  
Spot held out a letter. I took it and started reading it as Spot talked. I didn't know who it was from; the handwriting was too neat to be Ally's and the words were all spelt right.  
"It's from Rooster. He wrote me weeks ago. Something happened. Something bad. Ise think Ally's hoirt."  
I reached the bottom of the letter and froze. Spot kept talking, but I couldn't hear him. All I could hear was the racing of my heart and blood pounding in my ears. Something bad happened, all right. Snyder had tracked Ally to Arizona. The sound of my fellow newsies getting up brought me back to the present.  
"Race, youse okay?" Jack asked me. Behind him stood Crutchy and Blink, all three of them looking concerned. I shook my head and everyone started asking what was wrong.  
"Wat happened?"  
"Are youse hoirt?"  
"Did youse hear from Ally?"  
I shook my head again. "Ally's hoirt."

_**Hopefully it was as good as most people seem to think. You remember the drill, right? (Hit the review button and tell me what you think...hint hint wink wink...)**_


	23. Capturing and Planning

_**Panda Bear-I hope you like your high school better. If you don't mind me asking, why don't you like the people at your middle school? Don't answer if you don't want, I was just curious. Anyway, that's really cool about the magnet program and the actors camp. I wish they had those where I live. Although I did learn to play flute at a summer music camp, which I'm planning on going to this summer. But it's only one week and people aren't playing music as much anymore so it's getting smaller and not as much fun as before. But oh well, I guess I can't complain. At least it's something. Grease is pretty cool too, though. But if you ever do manage to be in Newsies, let me know. I'll come watch you and get your autograph. It'd be cool if you ever got to do that, and even cooler if you were Race.**_

_**MinnieG-Yeah, I thought it would be kinda funny. I had this idea in my head that Robin would be really angry at the world or something and Killian would just be this really cheerful girl. I thought it would be interesting to do that because I could see Robin hating Killian but Killian taking that as a challenge and trying to make Robin like her. (By the way, brownies if you can figure out what movie I got the name from.) Did you really scream when Snyder walked into the cave? Wow, I must be a good writer if you did. Yeah, Weasel seems like the kind of guy to team up with Snyder. Well, I don't really know about him. I see him more as the kind of guy that would team up with Snyder just because he wanted to get revenge on the newsies for picking on him, but at the same time, I almost think he wouldn't really want to see them hurt so in the end he might turn on Snyder. I'm not really sure, but Snyder seems evil enough to hunt them down just for money. I wouldn't stop you if you punched the screen. Hopefully this chapter makes you happy.**_

_**Two disclaimers-First, I don't own Newsies but I do own Laura, Carey, Robin, Killian, Tajo, Maggie, Lenmana/Ally, and Rooster. Oh, and their cousin Chepi, their aunt Cha'Risa, and Killian's dad.**_

_**Second, this chapter talks a lot about Jesus. I'm sorry if I offend anyone by putting it in, but I refuse to take it out. I happen to have a relationship with Jesus and I'm not afraid to put it in my writing. What I put in this chapter is what I believe. However I don't want to make it sound like I'm preaching at anyone. If you think that's what I'm doing, I'm really sorry about that. Let me know and I'll change it. I won't take it out, but I will try to change it so it doesn't sound like I'm preaching. Again, sorry in advance if I offend anyone with that.**_

Snyder had us trapped in the cave. There was no way out without having to go past him, but even if there was, I couldn't move on my own. Our only option was to hope Chepi could get to safety and send for help.  
"Look who I found, trying to run away." The short, round man entered the cave with Chepi behind him. He had a firm grip on her arm. "She was looking to run away and get some help."  
Chepi looked at us and mouthed the words "I'm sorry." Castel shook his head slightly. I winced as a flash of pain shot through the left side of my body. Biting my lip, I squeezed my eyes shut until it passed. When I opened them, Castel and Chepi were being led out by the short man and Snyder was reaching for me. I cried out in pain as he roughly grabbed my arms and pulled me to my feet. I stumbled around, trying to regain my balance without putting pressure on my foot. It was hard, because I couldn't move my arm. Snyder tried to help me.  
"No! Stop it!" Castel yelled, breaking free and coming to my side. He put an arm out and helped steady me. He glared at the men. "Can't you see she's hurt? If you make it worse, I will get every lawyer in New York to sue you!"  
"You have no probable cause," Snyder told him. "You have no way of blaming me. There is no proof that I hurt her."  
"It's your fault she fell out of the tree. You were chasing us. What reason do you have for that? If I mention that, your defence will fall apart." He stared at the old man, daring him to challenge that. I was surprised, not only that Castel seemed to know what he was talking about, but that the conversation was in English and I understood much of it with little trouble. Finally Snyder backed down and allowed Castel to assist me. We hobbled out to a hastily made sled where I was to sit. Castel and Chepi walked behind me and attended to any needs I had. The men were riding in a carriage next to us. The carriage started and we slowly made our way back to New York, a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.

* * *

"Allegra's hoirt?" I asked Race. "Wat happened? How badly?"  
"Wat did da letter say?" Crutchy asked.  
"It just says dat Ally's hoirt real bad and Snyder has dem. Dey're on da way back ta da city."  
"Den how's did dey send a letter?" I wondered. "If dey're travellin, when did dey send it?"  
"Ise don't know," Race snapped. "Da letter don't say much. Just dat Ally's hoirt and dey're comin back. If Ise knew anything else, do youse think I'd be standin here?"  
"So wat are youse gonna do?" Blink asked.  
"Ise don't know," he muttered, sitting on his bed. "Ise don't know. Ise gotta think." He stood up and walked out the door, half-dressed. Everyone else stood around staring at each other, not knowing what to say. Race walked back in, his face turning several shades of red. "Dere's goirls out dere," he told us, shaking his head. "Dis big group of dem. Spot, Robin's out dere. She said she wanted ta talk."  
I nodded my thanks and walked out. I wasn't sure I was in the mood for another fight with Robin. Every time we talked lately, we ended up fighting. Reaching the door, I opened it to find the group of girls Race must have run into. In the center of the circle they had formed were Robin, Killian, Laura, and Carey.  
"Wat's da matta wit youse?" Robin was asking Killian. "Youse is too happy all da time and youse is always so nice. Wat's da deal?"  
"I have Jesus," Killian told her. Laura and Carey looked happy at those words. "He makes me happy all the time. Well, that's not quite true. Not all the time. But He helps me feel happy inside, even when I hurt. It's hard to explain, but it's the truth. And when I'm happy inside, I want everyone to be happy. So I am nice to them."  
"Is dat a rule in dat Bible of yours?"  
"Yes, it does say that. I'm not nice to you because I have to though. That is part of it, but I can see that you're hurting, and I want to be your friend."  
I walked into the circle as Killian gave Robin a great big hug. Robin's face was a mixture of shock that Killian was hugging her, anger that someone dared touch her, and what looked like a bit of sadness. I realized that since she had no family around, I was probably the only person who really hugged her. I supposed Laura and Carey did too, sometimes, but Robin was something of a loner. Laura and Carey quickly joined the hug and Robin finally stopped fighting.  
"Wat happened here?" I asked. "Why is everybody hugging?"  
"_Killian was just telling Robin about Jesus,"_ Laura explained. _"Robin was wondering why Killian is so nice to her."  
_"Ise caught dat much."  
"_Then why did you ask?"  
_I shrugged. "Seemed right ta ask."  
"Robin asked us to come with her to see you," Carey told me. "She mentioned something about fighting with you and wanted us to come. I guess she's tired of fighting with you and wants us here to keep you two from fighting."  
Robin finally broke free of Killian and came to stand in front of me. "Ise wanted ta explain somethin. When we was at da ocean, Ise was happy. But den Ise got dis letter." She explained how her cousin had written to say Robin's aunt had died. Robin was upset over that fact, because she didn't really like the aunt but felt bad about running away. Not long after getting the letter, she had realized it had been five years since her parents had died. Even though they weren't the best parents, they had tried and Robin was missing them. "And Ise just wanted ta forget all of dat, so Ise tried ta think about somethin else, but all's dat Ise had was youse, so…"  
"So youse kept asking for attention so's dat youse could forget?" I guessed. She nodded.  
"What you need is Jesus," Killian broke in softly. "Both of you."  
Laura nodded vigorously. _"Spot, remember that day when we were ten and you asked me how I could forgive the people that hurt me?"  
_I nodded, sitting down on a bench. Somehow we had worked our way to the Brooklyn Bridge. Robin sat next to me and the other girls stood around us. "Youse said somethin bout forgivin dem, right?"  
Laura and Carey shared a look. _"Are you sure you want me to continue?"_ Robin and I both nodded. Breathing in, Laura started. _"Well, this is what helps me…"_

* * *

After going back to put some proper clothing on, I headed to the Sheepshead Races. I needed to think about how to help Ally. Rooster's letter didn't have much information. It mostly told me that Ally was hurt and they were on the way to New York. Based on the date at the top of the letter, they should be arriving soon. Rooster had no idea what would happen to them when they arrived. My best guess was that they would either go to their parents or be sent to jail; though if Ally was badly hurt, she might go to a hospital first.  
"Hey kid." Aldrich, my favorite jockey at the races, greeted me. He had been the one to give me advice about Ally in the first place, and I wanted to ask him what he thought about trying to help Ally now. He had a daughter about my age named Killian, so I figured he would understand. "How's the girl?"  
"In trouble." I told him what had happened. He kept silent the whole time, his eyes sympathetic. "So now Ise don't know how ta help her. How do Ise get her outta da hospital if she's hoirt? Wat about her brudder? Dey're twins and she'll be upset if Ise don't help him too."  
"Wait until she comes back to the city before you do anything. Then find out where she is." We kept talking about what I should do until it was time for Aldrich's race. I wished him good luck as he left. I leaned against the rail and started forming a plan of my own.

That night, I told the plan to the group of people I had assembled. The group included Tajo, Spot, Laura, Carey, Robin, and Killian Aldrich. I was surprised to find out that Killian knew Spot. I hadn't known they knew each other.  
"So wat's da plan?" Spot asked.  
"Ally's hoirt real bad. Ise is guessin she'll be taken ta da hospital. Da plan is ta have da goirls visit her and see how bad Ally's hoirt. Dey can dress as nurses if dey need. Da goirls will also find out where Rooster is. Tajo, Spot, and Ise will find Rooster after dat and get him out. When we's get Rooster, den we's get Ally outta da hospital and bring her here. Ise also asked Maggie ta come wit us."  
Tajo frowned. "Why? Ise want dem ta stay outta dis."  
"Dey'll be a good distraction if we need one. Dey can wait outside unless somethin happens. Dat way if somethin goes wrong, dey can't get in trouble." After some more convincing, Tajo finally agreed that he would think about it. I quickly explained the rest of the plan, and we all agreed to listen for any news of Ally and Rooster.

The next two weeks were fairly uneventful. The Manhattan newsies were busy talking about Blink getting married to Laura and Brooklyn was buzzing about the fact that Spot and Robin had seemed to work things out. That was the most exciting thing that happened, until one day Spot came running into the 'Hattan Lodging House, trailed by a Native American girl. Spot threw himself in a chair, panting. The girl, on the other hand, hardly seemed out of breath.  
"Wat happened?" I asked Spot.  
"Ally's back!"

_**Another cliffhanger! I seem to use those a lot, don't I? I hope it keeps people reading this story though. Anyway, hopefully the part with Spot and Robin and them doesn't offend anyone. Please read and review? I'll send cookies again. (And brownies for anyone who figures out what movie I got Killian's name from...)**_


	24. Head Busting and Rescuing

_**Panda Bear-That sucks. I only had to deal with four years of being made fun of. You're a lot tougher and way more brave than I'll ever be. If it makes you feel any better, I once heard that people only make fun of you because you have something they want. Sorry if that sounds like a parent thing to say. But seriously, maybe they're just intimidated by your level of awesomeness that they don't know how to handle it. If you ever did become a newsie, I think I'd call you Racetrack. Or something like Tough Cookie or something. I'm sure you'll do great at that camp. Yes, Ally and Race reunite...sort of. They reunite for real...that would be spoiling it. Never mind. Just read this chapter. Yes, we do need to kick some Weasel and Snyder butt. They're just plain mean. And yes, I can fit King of New York in here. I won't promise it'll be at the end, but I do promise it'll be in this story somewhere. (P.S. keep being brave and never give up. One day it'll come back to you and really pay off. Those people who aren't so nice...you'll be laughing at them one day. Besides, you always have me as a friend, right?)**_

_**MinnieG-Really? You think it's a work of art? Wow, you really like this story. Thank you so much. I'm glad you like it so much. I'm also glad you like all the suspense and think there's good character development. I'm sure there's people out there somewhere cheering for me. Honestly though, I think you and Panda Bear are my biggest cheerleaders. Thank you so much for reviewing all the time.**_

Robin and I had reached an agreement after our talk with Laura, Carey, and Killian. Robin had decided she wanted what the other girls had and believed in their Jesus. I wasn't so sure, but we had an agreement. Robin would try harder to be nicer from now on, and I would listen to her talk about her new faith sometimes. It maybe wasn't the best agreement, but at least we had stopped fighting. We were having one of those talks one day two weeks later when the door to the Brooklyn Lodging House flew open and a Native American girl came through. Robin and I stared in shock at her.  
"Spot…Conlon," she panted in English. "I…need…Spot Conlon."  
"Dat's me," I told her, standing up and pulling up a chair. "Who are youse?"  
"Chepi. I'm…Lenmana's cousin. She…told me…told me…to find you."  
"Lenmana?"  
"Who's dat? Spot, is dere…" Robin started. I looked at her and she took a deep breath before starting over. "Sorry.  
Who's dis Lenmana goirl? It is a goirl, right?"  
"Yes, Lenmana is a girl. She's my cousin. She's short and has black hair, she plays flute…she told me you knew her." Chepi looked confused now. "She told me you kissed her before."  
I shook my head. The only girl I had kissed lately was Allegra. Unless…"Lenmana is Allegra?" I asked. "She plays flute, right? Short wit black hair ta her waist and green eyes and plays flute."  
"Yes. That's what I said, isn't it?" Chepi asked. "Lenmana, my cousin."  
"Youse is Ally's cousin?" Robin asked.  
"She neva told me her name was Lenmana."  
"She ran away from home. Why would she tell you her real name?"  
Ally's cousin had a good point and I shrugged. "So Ally told youse ta find me?"  
"She's in trouble. She got hurt real bad and now she's in a hospital and her brother is in jail and-"  
"Wait, Ally's back?" I interrupted. "In New York? Right now?"  
The girl nodded. "They got in yesterday. I only managed to get away from that Snyder man a few hours ago. My cousin is hurt-"  
"Come on!" I yelled, grabbing the tall girl's hand and pulling her along. Robin followed on our heels. "We's gotta tell Race!"  
We ran all the way to the Manhattan Lodging House, and burst through the doors. By that time, I was out of breath, but Ally's cousin hardly looked as if she had been running. Racetrack was the only person in the room and he looked up at us as we ran in the door.  
"Wat happened?" Racetrack asked.  
Panting, I threw myself in a chair. Robin sat on a bunk, and Chepi just stood there looking around. "Ally's back," I told him.

* * *

"So Ally's real name is Lenmana?" I asked. Ally's cousin was sitting across from me, telling Spot, Robin, and me what happened.  
Chepi nodded, looking slightly annoyed. "Well, that's what her mother calls her. Her father calls her Allegra because it's a Spanish name. Anyway, after Snyder found us in the cave-"  
"Snyder?!" I shot out of my chair. "Snyder?! Ise is goin ta bust his head in!" Spot and Robin each grabbed an arm before I could move.  
"Wait till da goirl finishes da story," Spot warned me. I gritted my teeth but sat back down.  
"Snyder found us in the cave. Len was hurt real badly so we made a sled for her to ride on. Castel and I walked behind and took care of her. We had to walk all the way back while Snyder and Wisel rode in a carriage. Len got sick about halfway, so they let her ride in the carriage after Castel threatened them. He sent Spot a letter when we stopped in a town for a few days to rest."  
I got up again and reached for the stack of letters from Ally. Shuffling through them, I found the one she was talking about. "Dis one. It said dat Ally was hoirt real bad and dat dey would be getting into da city soon."  
Chepi nodded again. "As soon as we got into the city yesterday, Castel insisted that Len go straight to the hospital. He was brought to jail-"  
"Was it called da Refuge?" I interrupted again.  
"If you don't stop that I'm never going to finish," Chepi snapped. I apologized and sat back down, turning a light shade of red. "Yes, it was called the Refuge. _Any_way, I was supposed to sit with Len until she woke up, but I managed to slip away a few hours ago and came to find Spot. Castel told me if I could get away to run to Brooklyn and find him. It seems that my other cousin thinks you men will have a plan."  
"Oh, we's got a plan," I cackled gleefully, rubbing my hands together.  
Chepi looked nervously at me. Spot, on the other hand looked excited. "Da plan youse came up wit?"  
"Better," I told him. "Ise call it plan B, for plan Bust Snyder's head."

I sent Spot with Robin to gather everyone who knew Ally and would want to come rescue her. I was surprised to see both Maggie and Tajo come.  
"Magpie, Ise think dis is a bad idea. Wat if youse get caught? Wat about da kids?"  
"Are they married?" Chepi whispered in my ear.  
"No, dey're brudder and sista."  
"Ova here!" Spot whispered, waving his hands. Maggie and Tajo came over, followed by a rather large group of people, which included Laura, Carey, Blink, Crutchy, Jack, Killian, and for an unknown reason, Killian's dad.  
"I think this is a terrible idea," he whispered to me, "but I wanted to come along and make sure nobody got hurt. Besides, I want to meet this girl of yours." He winked at me and I smiled back, getting the idea that he thought it was a better idea than he let on.  
"Wat's da plan?" Jack asked.  
I had asked everyone to meet at the Refuge. Looking around, I counted the number of people. Altogether we had ten or so people. Turning that over in my mind, I decided my old plan might not work and formed a new one as I talked. "Dis is da plan. Da goirls will go in first and cause a distraction. Ally's cousin Chepi-" I pulled Chepi to her feet so everyone knew who she was. "Chepi will come wit da boys and help us find Rooster."  
"What kind of distraction?" Maggie asked.  
"Anythin youse can think of. But make it good. It's gotta last long enough for us ta get Rooster and get out. Once dat's done, da goirls go back ta da lodging house and make sure dere's a place for Ally da stay. Da boys will get Ally outta da hospital and brink her back."  
Everyone nodded and got into the positions I told them to. Just before we went in, I handed made sure everyone had a stick or some kind of weapon.  
"What's this for?" Chepi asked me.  
"For hitting people wit," I told her. "Soakin da people dat work here." When everyone was ready, I nodded. "Soak 'em wit no discrimination."  
The girls quickly caused a distraction and I led the boys past. Chepi led us to a room with a single door with a slit in it. Spot was about to open the door when guards came around the corner. We managed to fight them off with our sticks. Chepi turned out to be very good at throwing hers like a spear and took out a number of men that way. When the path was finally clear, Spot had the door open. Rooster was looking at him in surprise and confusion.  
"What are you doing here?" he asked in Spanish.  
"Rescuing you and Ally."

* * *

"Ally, please wake up. I can't sleep and I need you to sing me a lullaby."  
My first thought was that I was too tired to sing for Ariana and Caelyn tonight. My second thought was to wonder why I heard Ariana's voice in the first place. Sure, I had heard it in my dreams several times since I had left New York, but it had never sounded like she was standing next to my bed.  
"Si prega di Ally. Te amo."  
Racetrack's voice whispering in Italian was what made me open my eyes. Blinking, I looked around and saw several people gathered around me. I had no idea where I was, but I had no time to think about it. As soon as I tried to sit up, a little body landed on my left side and I gasped in pain. A pair of hands pulled the person off me. I groaned, feeling like a very heavy animal had just stepped on me.  
"Welcome back, Ally." I looked up to see Maggie, Ariana on her hip and Caelyn on her other side holding her hand. I could hardly manage a painful nod at her.  
"What…happened?" I got out.  
"We rescued you," Ariana and Caelyn chirped. "It was all Uncle Tony's idea." I turned my head to see Racetrack standing the right side of my bed.  
"Bentornato," he said with a smile. "Mi sei mancato."

**_Translations_**

**_Si prega di Ally-Please Ally (I think...Something close to that anyway...)_**

**_Te amo-I love you_**

**_Bentornato-Welcom back_**

**_Mi sei mancato-I missed you (It's all in Italian, so if you need to look it up for youself...)_**

**_You should know the drill by now...if you forgot, the review button gives me a nice little reminder so I can hunt you down and do some head busting...(Just kidding. But really, please review...)_**


	25. Plans and Sickness

_**Sorry for taking so long! I haven't died or fallen off the face of the earth...yet. I was just really tired and then I went to see a movie and haven't been inspired until now. (By the way, Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness are good movies. I would recommend watching them. Star Trek in 3D has epic battle scenes.)**_

_**MinnieG-Yes, Ally is saved...for now. We'll see how long that lasts.**_

_**Panda Bear-I can't wait either. Let's plan that Newsie-Con thing and we can kick their butts there. And maybe the Delancey brothers' butts too, just while we're at it. )**__**Oh, and your name came up as Panda Bear the first time, so no worries. I wasn't confused. I like your plan for the dance. You're a heck of a lot braver then me. I could never walk into anywhere with style or confidence. (I have my dad's sense of style-which is not a very good sense of it. I'm not as bad as he is, but it's still pretty bad. And I ran out of confidence years ago and it hasn't come back yet. If you see it, tell it I miss it...) As a reward, here's another chapter! Enjoy!**_

_**So I own nothing but any characters that don't appear in the movie. Or on Broadway...**_

I watched as Ally finally opened her eyes. "Bentornato," I said, smiling. "Mi sei mancato." She blinked a few times before faintly smiling back. We just stood there grinning, until Ariana and Caelyn started asking Ally all kinds of questions about where she had been. Ally tried to keep up, but everyone gathered around her bed could clearly see it was an effort to even stay awake much longer. Maggie finally took the girls home, promising they could return in the morning to see Ally. When she fell back asleep, I turned to Rooster and asked him what happened.  
"We went to our mama's people," he told me. "We stayed there until about February or so."  
"Why did you come back?"  
"We were found. I took Na-Na out ice fishing one day so we could talk but some men were there and started chasing us. We were running across the ice when Allegra slipped on it and hurt her foot. She told Chepi-our cousin-and I to keep running and she would catch up."  
"How did she get hurt so bad?"  
"She climbed a tree to wait for those men to leave, but the branch broke and she fell. Chepi and I found her a week later and we ran."  
"All the way back to New York?"  
"No. They found us hiding in a cave. We stopped to make camp and tend to Allegra, but…" Rooster trailed off and I finished the story myself.  
"But they caught up and brought you back?"  
"Si. Her arm…her arm is…"  
"How bad is it?"  
"Her leg will be okay in time, but her arm is very bad. I don't know if it will heal. She was so sick. I didn't know if she would wake up each morning and when she did…"  
"She almost died?" I yelled in alarm. "She almost died and you didn't tell me? She…I…that…she…" I stopped, not really sure what I meant to say. I finally settled with "How could you not tell me she almost died?"  
"What could you have done about it?" Rooster challenged me. "We were far from home with two bad men. We had one chance to send a letter and I didn't think there was any sense in telling you something that may not have ever happened."  
I saw the sense in what Rooster said, but it didn't make me less angry. I paced the room until Ally murmured in her sleep. I walked over and put a hand on her cool forehead. Bending over, I gave it a gentle kiss. "Ise love youse," I whispered in English. "Ise love youse and Ise promise not to leave youse."

* * *

The rescue had gone well and we brought Allegra to the Manhattan Lodging House afterwards. I stayed for a while, but left before Ally woke up. As much as I wanted to see her, I figured there would be enough people that wanted to see her more than I did. Walking back to Brooklyn with Tajo, I thought about Ally. Tajo seemed content with the silence and left me alone with my thoughts for most of the journey. Just before we got back though, he stopped me.  
"So…" He left the sentence unfinished.  
"So what?" I asked. I had no idea what he was trying to imply.  
"So Ally's back. Wat are youse gonna do 'bout it?"  
"Wat do youse mean? I ain't gonna do anythin 'bout it."  
He stared at me. "Youse mean youse ain't got a plan ta get Allegra ta be your goirl?"  
"Ise neva really thought 'bout it." I was surprised at his words. I hadn't really thought about what I would do if Allegra came back. I had assumed that once she came back things would just go back to the way they had been before she left. "Ise guess Ise just thought she'd be Race's goirl. 'Sides, Robin and Ise got things woirked out now. Ise don't want ta ruin dat just yet."  
"Just remember Allegra's hoirt real bad right now."  
"Wat's dat got ta do wit anything?"  
"Ise don't know," Tajo admitted. "But she's hoirt. She may not remember much 'bout dis time, so be careful 'bout wat youse do."

* * *

Ally spent most of the next week sleeping. She had been placed on my bunk when we had stormed into the LH that night, but Rooster had insisted that she have her own room to sleep, not wanting her to be disturbed by our noise in the morning. Kloppman had helped him set up a hospital room of sorts in the sitting room for her, and we moved her down there. When I wasn't selling papes at the races, I was by Ally's side, doing whatever Rooster told me to do. He stayed by her side so much I sometimes wondered if he ever left. Thankfully, Maggie managed to drag him out every so often and when he did, I took over his place and followed his instructions. A week after they had returned though, Ally took a turn for the worse. Rooster and I were sitting by the couch Ally rested on, just talking. He was telling me about his aunt and cousin they stayed with-his cousin Chepi and her mother-and I was tending to Ally.  
"-as she enters, she tells me-"  
"Rooster, come look at Ally," I interrupted. "I think she got worse."  
"What do you mean?" He got up and took a closer look.  
"She has a fever."  
Rooster put a hand to her head. "She's burning up. This is bad. It could be serious."  
"How serious?" Rooster glanced at me before looking back at his sister. He looked really worried.  
"Possibly deadly. It might be measles. My mama's people had the measles spread through their tribe and it caused many to die. They had no way of fighting the disease off. If Allegra catches it…"  
"What does that mean for her? If she catches it, she could die too?"  
"I don't know. The only thing I know is that I need to bring her to Papa. He's the only one that can help her." He scooped Ally up in his arms and headed for the door.  
"Wait! Isn't there anything else we can do for her?"  
Rooster shook his head sadly. "She needs a real doctor."  
I watched as Rooster hurried down the street, feeling helpless to do anything.

_**I think the only translations are ones from the last chapter. I believe the translations meant welcome back and I missed you. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.) So now that that's done, go review!**_


	26. Measles

_**Panda Bear-I didn't even notice your name didn't show up. I read the review and my mind just filled in who it was for some reason. When you reviewed again saying your name didn't show up I had to go back and check because in my brain your name was all over that review. Yeah, my style is pretty much just jeans or shorts and whatever shirts my mom buys for me. Or plaid shirts I can wear over tank tops. I love tank tops... Anyway, I like that idea of re-enacting kick-butt scenes. It'd be fun. I call being either Blink or Crutchy. Or maybe I could be some combination of both...wonder how that would work? But yes, Ally might have measles. I haven't decided for sure if she'll die or not. I'm thinking not, but since this is your story you can decide. If you do travel back and revive her, I'm coming with you. And please do bring my futuristic cookies. We must introduce them to the people of the past.**_

_**MinnieG-If Ally stayed fine, it would still be a story. It just...might not be as good. I don't know. For some reason my brain was like "It can't be over. We need more drama!" Sadly, the story must come to an end at some point. But good news, it doesn't end in this chapter!  
**_

_**Tif S-I was just wondering where you had gone. Every time I start wondering that, you review again. Are you secretly a mind-reader? Cuz that'd be awesome! Anyway, good luck with school. And it's set a few weeks after the strike. The first part kinda goes from a week or so after the strike to about Thanksgiving or something and the middle part kinda goes from right after Thanksgiving to January sometime. I didn't really think much about dates, but it goes something like that. This part is kinda mid-February-ish or beginning of March. No, with Snyder in the picture things don't usually end well. He's good at crashing parties though.**_

_**I own nothing! (Yet...but I will one day!)**_

"Wat do youse mean she has measles?" I yelled at Race.  
"Wat do youse mean wat do Ise mean? I mean Ally's got da measles!" he yelled back. "Wat else is dere to explain?"  
I turned to the nearest wall and hit it. Pain exploded through my hand and I hissed, cradling it in my other hand. "Is she all right?"  
Race lifted his shoulders. "Ise don't rightly know. Rooster sent woird though da Queens newsies. All's he really said was dat Ally's got da measles but she's alive."  
I looked around for something else to hit. I settled for kicking the nearest bunk. It made my foot hurt instead of helping and I sat down, putting my head in my hands with a groan. "How are youse so calm 'bout dis?"  
He lifted an eyebrow and raised his right hand, which was wrapped in a white cloth. "Ise ain't calm. Ise just hoird it before youse did."  
"Wat did youse hit?"  
"A brick wall. Ise think it won." Race and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.  
"Wat's so funny?" Tajo asked as he and Maggie entered the lodging house.  
"Ise tried ta fight a brick wall," Race said with a grin. He turned serious, looking at the brother and sister. "Ally's got da measles."  
Maggie looked upset. "Oh no! Is she all right?"  
"Rooster didn't rightly say," I responded. "Race said he only sent woird through da Queens newsies dat it was measles but dat Ally was alive."  
"Ise want ta see her," Race said suddenly. "Ise want ta see for myself dat she's okay."  
"I'll go with you," Maggie said right away. "Ariana and Caelyn will want to see her. I know the twins miss her too. Where does she live?"  
"She lives…lives in…near…" Race paused, clearly stumped. "Ise don't know. We's neva talked 'bout it before."  
"Ise know a way ta find out," I said. Walking over to the door and sticking my head out, I gave a special whistle. Robin and Killian both came running up the stairs. I was slightly surprised at how fast they had become good friends. "Goirls, Ise need your help. Allegra is sick and we's need ta know where she lives. Can youse help wit dat?"  
"Oh, she lives in Queens," Killian said quickly. "Her papa is a medical doctor who uses herbs to heal people and her mama stays at home to keep house. My papa sometimes goes to their house to buy herbs when he doesn't feel well."  
Everyone stared at Killian. I was the first to recover. "Thank youse Killian!" Without thinking, I leaned in and gave her cheek a kiss before running out the door.

* * *

"Watta ya mean we's can't see her?" I yelled as the door was slammed in our faces. Killian had gotten the address from her father and we had gone over to see her. Spot and I had knocked on the door only to have Allegra's father tell us to leave. I pounded on the door demanding to see her until someone pulled me away.  
"Race, there's no point." The soft voices of Killian and Maggie finally reached my ears and I allowed myself to be dragged away.  
"Dat man…dat man is meaner den Snyder." I pointed in the direction we had just left, my chest heaving. "He don't know…he…Ise love her…" I kept muttering words under my breath. Spot, Tajo, Robin, and Killian had started walking ahead, leaving Maggie and I walking alone. Maggie didn't say anything until I had run out of words to say.  
"What are you going to do?"  
"Ise don't know."  
"Racetrack!" I turned to see Rooster running after me. He ran up to Maggie and gave her a hug, kissing her on the mouth as he did. I averted my eyes and cleared my throat. They pulled apart, each blushing a bright shade of red. He thrust a letter in my hands. "Here. Read this. My papa doesn't want you coming by, but if you read that…"  
"What is it?"  
"A letter."  
"I can see that. I mean what's in it?"  
"Read it." I started to open the letter. "Not here. Not now. Read it back at the lodging house." With that, he kissed Maggie again and took off. Maggie looked at me and I shrugged. We walked silence the rest of the way back. I ripped open the letter as soon as I reached the lodging house. It was in Rooster's neat handwriting.  
"Meet me tonight at midnight. Wait on our fire escape. I know a way you can visit mi hermana."

* * *

I felt a cool hand on my forehead and opened my eyes. It was so dark outside but the moon was shining and I could make out a shadow sitting on the fire escape. It leaned towards me and planted a kiss on my cheek. A voice whispered in my ear that he loved me. I reached up and grabbed the hand. My hand fit in it perfectly and in my head, I pretended it was Racetrack. Closing my eyes, I imagined his face. I knew it couldn't really be him, because I had heard Papa telling him to leave. I wasn't sure why. I hadn't heard anything said before that and right after I fell back asleep. Of course, lately my mind had been playing tricks on me. The last thing I remember was going ice fishing with Castel. Chepi was going to bring us dinner later and we were going to decide if we should write home or not.  
"Ally, when you feel better I'm going to bring you to visit Medda. She'll want to know her favorite flute player is feeling better. And after that we'll go see Maggie and the girls. They've been asking me about you every day. You need to wake up so you can sing to them. I need you to wake up. I need you."  
What was he talking about? Who was this person? I heard him whispering again. He was telling me good night and that he'd see me tomorrow. I felt a shiver of excitement run though me as I fell asleep again.

_**Anyone else not sure they liked this chapter? I wasn't feeling very inspired. I was listening to kinda sad love-type songs and...stuff happened so my mood was weird when I wrote this. Anyway, hope you liked it. Leave a review and I'll send cookies!**_


	27. Is she?-Race and Spot

_**Panda Bear-Haha, kill Racetrack's heart. Yeah, it would kill him. I was writing the last chapter as some work mates were watching a movie and one of the preview things was for the movie The Lovely Bones (not sure why bones are lovely. Usually it means somebody died and that ain't lovely.) so I had this idea of maybe making the story kinda like that. (You know, the person died and is narrating the story from somewhere other than earth...) But yes, I like that idea. Let's time travel and go meet the newsies. We must introduce them to cookies of the future. (Maybe we could even bring a newsies or two home with us...hehehe...) Yeah, that would be a great challenge. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Haha, yeah. I'm weird. But it'd be kinda cool in a way to see that-a half-blind and crippled newsie. Hey, maybe Disney could make a movie about that! You can be Racetrack in it and I'll be the newsie with all the problems and you can be my best friend. Wow, that's a lot of boots. I have about that many pairs of shoes between my house and my parents house and I think it's a lot. Yay for school almost being done! Almost there! That's cool about the piccolo. Hope you get it. Yeah, I think it helped that it kinda included part of a conversation we were having...anyway, here's the next chapter. Please don't hate me too much. *Hides behind couch and offers cookies***_

_**Is the grass blue? Do cows really jump over the moon? Do I own anything except my own characters? If you answered yes to any of those questions, get your head examined. If you said no, good job. You answered correctly. Brownies for you. Now stop reading this and go read the chapter! (I said read already!)**_

I went to visit Ally every night for two weeks. She was almost always sleeping when I came and the times she was awake, she didn't seem to know who I was or what had happened. Rooster told me it was because of the fever. It made her delusional and she wouldn't remember much of what happened if she recovered. I always felt a shiver go down my spine when we talked about it. Rooster always said _if_ she recovered, never when. The third week I went to visit her, Rooster said Ally had gotten bronchitis.  
"She's very sick," he told me, sounding very worried. I was sitting on the fire escape outside Ally's room and Rooster was hanging out the window.  
"Does she still have the measles?"  
"No. Measles don't last more than a week or so. Ally's over them, but she caught cold from being outside so long. I think that's what made her catch bronchitis. It's very bad."  
I climbed past him into the bedroom and sat next to Ally. Taking her hand, I leaned in and kissed her cheek, whispering that I loved her and wanted her to get better soon. She stirred slightly but kept sleeping.  
"She's my best friend." Rooster sounded close to tears. "She always seems to know what I'm thinking. She understands me better than I know myself. She…she's the…best friend I'll ever have."  
"I know. If she doesn't make it…" I couldn't make myself finish the sentence.  
"She has to make it. She has to. I can't lose my twin. She can't die. Can she?" He sounded so pitiful I had to shake my head.  
"Of course she won't die," I told him, trying to convince myself as much as him. "She can't. Too many people love her. They wouldn't let her. I wouldn't let her." We sat in silence for an hour before I left, kissing Ally goodbye as I did.

* * *

When I came the next night, Ally was having trouble breathing. I watched her struggle to take every breath. Each one seemed harder than the last. I came to sit next to her, not caring if I got into trouble. When her papa came in, he just looked at me and nodded his head without saying a word. I nodded back without taking my eyes off her.  
"I'm sorry for throwing you out before," he told me, taking a seat on Ally's other side. "It was wrong of me, but I was doing what I thought was best for my daughter. I see now that you care a great deal about her."  
"I love her," I replied bluntly. I hoped it wouldn't get me into trouble. To my surprise, he just nodded.  
"I can see that."  
"If…if she gets better…when she does…I would like your permission to properly date your daughter."  
He gave a slight smile. "Permission granted." We watched as Ally gave a gasp and opened her eyes.  
"Papa?"  
"Si, mi hija. Yo estoy aquí."  
"I'm cold."  
Ally's papa wrapped her in another blanket as I rubbed warmth into her hands. She looked over at me. "I…love…you."  
"Shhh. Just rest. The sooner you get better, the sooner you can get back to playing at Medda's."  
"I…wanted…you to…know…that." She blinked and gasped again. Her bright green eyes showed no signs of fear, just peace. "In case…in case I…don't…make it."  
"You're going to make it," I whispered, feeling the first shock of fear. "You have to. I need you to try and make it."  
"I…am trying…you…goose. It's…so hard. Please…don't cry…for me." She weakly lifted her free hand to try and swipe at a stray tear falling down my face. "I'm…not…scared."  
"I am. I can't live without you. Please don't go. You're my whole life." I couldn't stop the tears now. Rooster came to stand next to me, reaching down to stroke her hair.  
"You can't go," he pleaded. "What'll I do without my twin? I won't be me without you."  
"My…favorite…men…all together." She smiled. It was a weak smile, but the love shining through was clear as day. "You'll…learn to…live. I…love you…for always. Remember…that. I love you." Her eyes closed and her chest stopped moving. Rooster pressed two fingers to her wrist. His eyes looked at me, then his father, both jumping into action. "Quickly! We need to move her now. Grab the blankets! Get your mama. Tell her what's happening." They rushed out the door, leaving me alone with nothing but the bed and a pillow lying at my feet.

* * *

"Is she all right?" Maggie asked Race.  
"Is she still alive?" I wanted to know. "Will she make it?"  
Race shrugged, wiping at a few tears still falling down his face. He had come straight to Brooklyn from Queens, telling us about Ally. "Ise don't know. Dey left so fast Ise didn't ask wat was happening. All's Ise know is dat she wasn't breathin so good."  
"I hope she'll be okay." Killian's quiet voice came from the corner, where she was sitting with Tajo and Robin. All three wore identical looks of concern on their faces. "I don't know her that well, but I really hope she makes it."  
"Ise do too," Robin added. "Spot, Ise really sorry 'bout wat Ise said…'bout da two of youse."  
I just lifted my shoulders, unable to say anything. Moving next to Robin, I put an arm around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze. She leaned into me and I felt a few tears wet my sleeve. I pulled her into a hug, rocking gently back and forth. Everyone else was wiping tears from their eyes and turning to each other for comfort. Tajo was holding Killian and whispering in her ears. Race was patting Maggie on the back as she cried on his shoulder. Her sisters were sitting in another corner, drawing on paper and singing to themselves and the twins were sitting with them, for once being quiet and drawing with their sisters. We waited like that, until Rooster came in. He looked around at us and sat down on a bunk, his expression unreadable.  
"Is…Is she…?" Race asked.  
"She…she's…" Rooster burst into tears. "She's alive."

_**So the only translation is Si mi hija. Yo estoy aquí. It's Spanish and it means "Yes my daughter. I am here." Please review? Double chocolate cookies and brownies and fudge if you do.**_


	28. Waking Up and Going Home

_**Sorry it took so long to update! Please don't be mad! I was either busy, too tired/lazy because I was so busy, or just plain lazy and uninspired. It's not a very good excuse but it's the truth. Anyway, I'm thinking this is almost the end of A Flute Player's Story. Not this chapter! But maybe two more chapters-the next one to kind of wrap a few things up and then the ending. (Unless people think otherwise...if you think there's anything else that needs to be added, please tell me. I won't promise it'll be added, but I may or may not do a sequel or something and use ideas in that story.)**_

_**Panda Bear-Were you really crying? Your poor mom. She must have been wondering what was wrong with her daughter. I kinda feel sorry for her, but at the same time that's really funny and I think I would have just been laughing at her. Yeah, I haven't seen that movie in a while. I don't remember how it ends. I wasn't planning on doing the Lovely Flautist Bones, but it's a great idea for another story. Maybe I'll do that story sometime. By the way, I saw your challenge to do a Titanic/Newsies story with Spot being Jack and a girl to replace Rose. I'm going to take you up on that challenge sometime in the near future. Watch out for it. We should totally make our own Newsies spin-off! We can plan to meet sometime soon and make it and then we can plan Newsie-Con and release it then! (I...am a genius.) Haha! Anyway, can I bring more than one newsie home? Cause I want to bring Blink and Crutchy home and I'd feel bad if I could only bring one. Or could I bring one home and return him later and bring the other one back? Haha, yeah. I can see Race looking at the iPhone and going "Wat is dis? Wat does it do?" and then taking all kinds of pictures with these weird but really funny faces. Yay! Cookies and brownies for all! Can you imagine the newsies baking? That'd be fun to see.**_

**_MinnieG-Thank you so much! You seriously flatter me so much I'm surprised that I'm still surprised at how much you like it. I'm glad you like it and I hope this chapter is just as good._**

**_So I still don't own anything but my own characters and I don't feel like trying to remember them all. Long story short, if you remember seeing the character in the movie, I don't own it. If you don't remember the character from the movie, it's mine._**

"I love you." I closed my eyes and everything stopped hurting. Feeling sunshine on my face, I turned my face upwards and smiled. A slight breeze blew threw my hair and I sighed. I lifted my arms and turned in a circle.  
"May I join you?" The sound of my grandmama's voice startled me. I opened my eyes and looked at her, confused.  
"Grandmama, what are you doing here?" My mama's mama smiled at me. "I thought you…I thought you had left us."  
"You mean you thought I died." She laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners just like my mama's. "Yes, dear, I did."  
"Am I dead?" I wondered out loud.  
"I don't know dear. But while you think about it, why don't we sit down and have a chat." She sat down on a bench and patted the spot next to her. "Now, what is this I hear about a boy named Racetrack?"  
I sat down and started talking. "Well, his name is Antonio and he is a wonderful boy. He is very sweet to me and makes me feel like I am a princess."  
"It sounds like you are in love. I think you should return to him. I bet at this moment, he is sitting somewhere crying his poor, broken heart out. Your brother will be missing you too."  
"Na-Na. Please come back to me." I could hear Castel's voice coming from a distance.  
"That would be him," Grandmama told me. "Go back to them. You will see me again one day."  
I was sad to leave Grandmama, but I knew she was right. I waved at her and headed back towards my brother's voice. He sounded as if he was crying.  
"Na-Na, you can't leave. You can't. Please come back."  
I opened my eyes. Castel was resting his head on the bed, his shoulders shaking. Papa was sitting on my other side, silent tears rolling down his face. I could see Mama at the foot of my bed. She was crying as well, but I could tell she was trying to be brave for everyone else. I turned my head to Castel, moving my hand to cover his. He looked up, hope in his eyes.  
"Na-Na! You…you're…you're awake! You came back to us! You're really awake!" He jumped up and reached down to give me a hug. Mama and Papa moved next to each other and hugged, kissing on the lips. Castel started making his crying noises that had earned him his nickname of Rooster. The noise brought a crowd of people into the room; doctors and nurses gathered around my bed. They started doing tests on me, speaking in rapid English the whole time. I didn't care what they were saying though; I was just glad to be with my family.

I spent the next few days mostly sleeping. When I woke up five days later, I saw Racetrack at my side. He was with Maggie and all her siblings, including her brother Tajo. Ariana and Caelyn immediately jumped on the bed to hug me. Pain shot through my left side, but I ignored it as I gave them hugs and kisses. The twins, who usually thought they were too grown up for hugs and kisses, allowed me to hug them. Maggie and Tajo waited until the younger ones had gone to run outside before giving me hugs and telling me they were glad I was feeling better. Before long, I was alone with Racetrack. He bent down and gave me a long, gentle kiss on my lips.  
"Bentornato," he whispered when he pulled back. "Mi sei mancato così tanto."  
"Yo también te extrañé," I whispered, my voice still hoarse. "I'm glad to be back."  
"You've missed so much." He told me about all the things that had happened since I had left in November. I listened in silence, just happy to be home with the people I loved.

* * *

"…but they worked things out. Maggie really missed you. She said Medda said your spot in the band is still open if you want it." I was in Ally's hospital room, telling her what she had missed after she left. Ally was sitting up in her bed, her leg resting on a pile of pillows. "But you have to hurry up and get better. And Maggie's sisters want you to come back soon and sing them to sleep. They won't stop asking about you."  
"They…came to see…me…yesterday." Ally coughed hard and long. It was so long I started to worry and wondered if I should ring for a nurse. I was just about to call one when Ally reached for a glass of water and took a long drink. "Lo siento," she told me in a whisper when she had stopped coughing. She gave me a weak smile. "I'm not fully recovered."  
"Get some rest," I told her, standing up. "I will come back tomorrow."  
"No!" She grabbed my hand and pulled on my arm. "Please stay. I…I'm afraid to sleep."  
"Why are you scared? What's so scary about going to sleep?"  
"I'm afraid…that if I do…I won't wake again." Ally looked so terrified that I sat back down. "I…I almost died…and I'm afraid…I don't want to die!" She choked back a sob and I stroked her hair.  
"You're not going to die," I whispered in her ear. "I won't let you die. Besides, I know you. You're too tough and strong to die."  
"Please stay," she begged me. "Please don't leave. I don't want to be alone when I go to sleep."  
"I won't leave," I promised her, kissing her forehead. She smiled, her eyes slowly closing and her breathing slowing down. "I'll be by your side always."

* * *

I entered Allegra's hospital room to see Racetrack and Rooster sitting on either side of Ally's bed talking to each other. Both of them were holding one of her hands. I knocked lightly on the door and they looked up.  
"Spot," greeted Rooster. "Come in. Mi hermana is sleeping right now, but have a seat."  
Since there was only two chairs in the room, Race sat on the bed next to the sleeping Allegra. Rooster moved to the end of the bed and I took the chair Race had been sitting on.  
"How is she?" I asked once everyone was settled. "Is she better?"  
"She had the measles-" Rooster started.  
"Yes, Ise know dat," I interrupted. "Ise want ta know if she's better."  
"Let da boy finish," Race scolded me.  
"She had the measles and it let to a bad case of bronchitis," Rooster finished, giving me a dirty look. "There were several complications because she was outside for so long without protection. But yes, she is better."  
"Wat about her arm? Will dat get better?" Race wondered.  
Rooster looked slightly concerned as he spoke. "She'll have a slight limp when she walks but her leg will be okay. The doctors think her arm will heal, but they still are not sure if it will be the same."  
"Ise hope she can still play da flute," I said.  
"It should heal well enough for her to play her flute," Rooster said, although he looked doubtful. I patted his shoulder but didn't say anything. We sat in silence until Allegra woke up.

* * *

I went to visit Ally again at the end of the next week. When I got to her room, she was sitting on the edge of her bed and wearing a cheerful smile.  
"Antonio!" she greeted me, lifting her good arm for a hug. I gave her one, kissing her as I did. "Guess what?"  
"Ariana told you you can't have me because she's going to marry me?" I guessed. Ally giggled and shook her head. "One of the twins wants to marry you?"  
"No, you goose!" Ally giggled. "I'm going home! The doctors said I'm able to go home!"  
"Ally, that's good news!" I picked her up and swung her around. She laughed, hopping a bit on her right foot when I set her down. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot-"  
"Do not be sorry," she told me. "My foot is much better now. Castel and Papa both think my arm will be better soon and that I can play my flute at Medda's again."  
"Lenmana?" Rooster stuck his head in the door. "Oh, hello Racetrack. Are you here to help mi hermana?"  
I nodded my head and smiled at Ally. Putting my arm around her shoulders, I helped her walk out of the hospital. When she was settled in the carriage waiting, I stood back and waved. "I will come visit you tomorrow," I told her.  
"No no no, that won't do," her father said, coming around the side and standing next to me. "You must come home with us now. My wife is cooking a welcome home dinner for my favorite daughter. Her boyfriend must be there to celebrate with us." He smiled at me and pushed me towards the carriage. Stumbling a bit, I caught myself and climbed up next to Ally. She immediately moved to my side and snuggled close to me. I gathered her in my arms and kissed the top of her head, happy that I could be with my girlfriend and not have to worry about her running away.

_**Translations**_

_**Bentornato. Mi sei mancato così tanto-Welcome back. I missed you so much**_

_**Yo también te extrañé-I missed you too**_

_**Sorry, I hope this chapter wasn't too lame. I tried to post it earlier but the internet was being stupid and I had to start work so it didn't happen. Anyway, hope everyone still liked it.**_


	29. Surprises and Birthdays

_**Yay! Another chapter! Sorry this one took so long, but at first I wanted to do a wedding scene but couldn't figure out how to start it so then I changed it but I got a bit lazy and let's just say I got lazy and did several rewrites of this chapter.**_

**_Panda Bear-That's good that your mom is okay now. I'm glad my story is good enough to make you cry. I'm thinking I might start planning the Lovely Flautist Bones story sometime soon. I have like, three or four story ideas in my head plus I'm planning a sequel for Cousins Lost and Found so we'll have to see when that happens. Yeah, someone saw that challenge. I saw it a while ago, it just took this long for me to get around to finishing the stories I was working on and deciding that I would try it. (I'm very glad you have confidence that I'll do a good job. Hope I live up to the expectations...) I'm not studying to be a writer, but I do love writing and I have a goal from high school to get something published so maybe I'll look into becoming a writer. Thanks for saying I'm good. Are you talking about showing the Newsies Spin-off at Newsie-Con or my writing? I'm guessing the spin-off but yeah, we should totally do that and make a bunch of money and then you can laugh at the people who make fun of you. Be all like "Yeah, I'm so cool, I started a convention, made a movie, and made tons of money off it. Take that, scabbers!" (Yes, I am a genius. Thank you very much. Here until 10...) I saw that movie. There was waaaaaaay too much swearing but it was really funny besides that and the dance thing they did at the very end was hilarious. I think that was my favorite part. Yay! Newsie party! I'm so bringing Crutchy and Blink and...who else is awesome? Maybe I'll bring Dutchy just for the heck of it. And...I don't know. Let's just grab our favorite newsies and then start shoving them through our time-travel machine and see who ends up coming with us. LES! WE HAVE TO BRING LES BECAUSE HE'S SOO FREAKING ADORABLE! Anyway, I read iNewsie. It was kinda funny. (And as you already saw, I did the newsie-baking-cookies-one-shot. Now I want to bake cookies...)_**

**_Tif S-I'm just glad you're still reading it! I'm more glad that you still like it. Yeah, it was quite the right huh? I have no plans to shake anything up in the near future. No promises about after that though. I like to keep things interesting. I'm glad Ally's okay too and I figured it was about time for something to go right. Of course Ally's dad likes her boyfriend! I'm all about happy endings. If I did a sequel, what do you think it should be about? I'm working out a plot for a Cousins Lost and Found sequel so I can include these characters in that story for sure. YES! Someone guessed it! Yeah, I had just watched Iron Man 3 and liked the name so when I needed a name, I was like "Let's use Killian, just for the heck of it." So far you're the only person that's guessed and you got it right. Extra points for you! I'll even send you brownies AND a cake!_**

**_MinnieG-Really? The last chapter was the best? Well thank you. Glad you enjoyed it that much. You do tend to scream when excited. But that's okay. I...don't know what I do when I get excited. Bounce around whatever room I'm in talking a lot and really fast, I guess. I'm really sorry, but this story must come to an end at some point. (Not this point. Don't worry, I still have one more chapter planned.) But sadly, some jerk came up with the rule that all good things must come to an end. (Grrr...) The good news is that it'll still be up on the site so you can read it over and over again plus if enough people want a sequel, I will be making one. Oh, by the way, I also write stories and/or make up characters for people who are awesome and review on my stories regularly. So let me know anything you would like to be included in your story/any special things about your character and I will get that going as soon as I can. Okay?_**

**_So here's another chapter. The next one, sadly, will be the ending of this story. But no worries! I will be creating more stories for you to read and if you want to see more of these characters, just let me know in a review and something can be arranged! I will be glad to accommodate people as best I can. (As you already know, I don't do slash or swearing, but I would be happy to accommodate as best I can other than that.) So go read this chapter and review already!_**

"How did you manage to do this?" Ally asked me. We were sitting at a table in Medda's theatre, drinking colas. I had surprised Ally by picking her up at her house in Queens and brought her to Manhattan, where the newsies had helped me plan a surprise party for her birthday.  
"I'm the king of New York," I told her, wiggling my eyebrows. She giggled, shaking her head at me.  
"You don't have enough money to do this. Do you?" She looked at me suspiciously, but I could see the twinkle in her eye. I pretended to be insulted before we both laughed. Just then, Denton came in to Medda's and walked over to us. I introduced Denton to Ally.  
"Nice to meet you, young lady," he said. Denton shook her hand before pulling out a paper and placed it in front of us. "Have you seen this story? You're one famous girl."  
I grabbed the paper out of Denton's hand and read through it quickly. It was about Ally and Rooster; how they had been captured by Snyder and Weasel but gotten away. There was even a section about how Ally had been very sick but survived. My name was mentioned and there was even a picture of the three of us-Rooster was making a face as Ally and I hugged outside their house.  
"You really are the king of New York," Rooster commented as he read over my shoulder. "So what does having your picture in the paper get you around here?" I smiled at the boys as we began yelling out things at the same time.  
"A pair of new shoes with matchin' laces," Mush yelled out.  
"A permanent box at Sheepshead races," I said.  
"A porcelain tub with boilin' water," Spot chimed in, grabbing a cola and facing Ally with a smile.  
Blink jumped up on a table. "A Saturday night with the Mayor's daughter." He smiled at Laura as everyone laughed.  
"Look at me; I'm the King of New York." I started singing, grabbing the paper and rolling it up. "Suddenly, I'm respectable, starin' right at 'cha lousy with stature." Rooster gave me a funny look and I swatted him with the rolled up paper.  
"Nobbin' with all the muckety mucks, I'm blowin' my dough and goin' deluxe," Jack added.  
"And there I be, ain't I pretty?" I sang. Jack slung his arm around my shoulders and we both said "It's my city; I'm the King of New York."

* * *

I smiled at Ally as she watched Race dancing across the tables at Medda's. We were in the middle of telling her and Rooster what we would get if we had enough money. Ally nodded when Boots said he wanted a corduroy suit, smiled when Les said he wanted s mezzanine seat to see the flickers, and wrinkled her nose when Snipeshooter told her he wanted Havana cigars that costed a quarter. Someone passed her the paper and she looked at it, Rooster leaning over her shoulder.  
"I gotta be either dead or dreamin' 'cause look at that pape with my face beamin'," he said. Together, they said in unison "Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it but I was a star for one whole minute."Everyone started singing with them. "Don't ask me how fortune found me, fate just crowned me; now I'm King of New York. Look and see; once a piker, now a striker, I'm the King of New York. Front page story, guts and glory; I'm the King of New York!" We all started cheering and I walked over to Ally. She smiled at me and offered a piece of cake. I took it with a smile, giving her a wrapped present.  
"Open it," I said in respond to her curious look. Tearing into the brown paper, she gasped when she saw the sheets of new music I had gotten her. Rooster had helped me pick it out and she gave both of us a big hug when we told her. Race walked over and wrapped his arms around Allegra's waist. She turned and did a little dance on the spot, showing Race her present. I was content to back away and let them be together. After watching them a bit longer and talking with the Manhattan newsies, I decided it was time to go. On the way out, Robin greeted me with a kiss on the cheek.  
"Wat was dat for?" I asked.  
"Dat was because Ise love youse," she told me. Taking her hand with a smile, we walked back to Brooklyn.

* * *

"Racetrack, this was wonderful," I said that night as we walked home. Castel had walked Maggie home and made Race promise to bring me home safely. "Thank you very much for planning it for me."  
He placed his hands on my waist and gave me a gentle, lingering kiss. When we pulled apart, we just stood there looking at each other. I could see desire in his eyes and was sure he could see it in mine. Finally he broke the silence and whispered to me. "I want to be with you very much," he said, placing a hand on my cheek.  
"I want very much to be with you also," I whispered, using English. I had secretly learning English from Castel and Maggie and had planned to surprise Race by using it one day. My plan had worked, judging by the very surprised look on his face. I giggled until tears came to my eyes.  
"You…youse…Ally, youse know English! When did youse…?" he stuttered out.  
"I work hard to learn English. I remember what you teach me while I visit Mama's people and speak English there. I do not want you always have to speak Italian to me."  
"Ally, dat's wonderful!"  
"Castel help me. He say he learn English at school and from newsies. He help teach me."  
"Are dere any other surprises Ise should know about?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. I shook my head. "Den Ise going ta kiss youse again." He did and I smiled.

_**Sorry about the long author's note at the start of the chapter. I'll make this one short. There's nothing to translate, so go review already!**_


	30. Endings-Lenmana

_**Panda Bear-Yes, I included it just for you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Personally, I love King of New York but I have to say Seize the Day is the best. I like the Broadway version too, but they changed King of New York and the rest of the songs too much for it. Yeah, when I was writing the chapter I was like "Must have Ally speak English!" It made him very happy (and very surprised...) Okay, so I'll post whatever story I can figure out a plot line to. I hope my future stories can live up to expectations. Haha, yeah, I might join you when we make money from our movie. (I was thinking we should do kind of like a reverse "Blood Drips on Newsie Square. Like someone is asked to be part of the movie but they really don't want to so they go around picking people off or something.) You can start singing King of New York and I'll join and then just be like "Okay, now I gots money. Where should I fly off to now?" You know, I was thinking about the Destiny's Child song Survivor and it made me think of you. You can make money from our Newsie spin-off and then sing the one line "Thought I wouldn't sell without you, sold 9 million" to anyone that made fun of you. Yeah, Blink pooping himself to death was awesome and I really liked how Race was upset and then Jack just says (with his cute British accent) "Well it's up there, isn't it?" (Or whatever his line was...) I guess you can't expect much more than that from crazy young teenage boys. Wow, 3 am? That's early! I hope it was worth it. My youth group goes to Canada's Wonderland every year before school starts and I love going on all the water rides and in the water park there. (I'm from Ontario. I don't close to Canada's Wonderland but close enough to make it there and back in a day.) Fun times. Hope you had fun.**_

_**Waaaahhhhh! This is the last chapter of this story! NO! Well, yes because I said so. But now I'm sad. Now I have to figure out some other way of entertaining my crazy thoughts. Anyway, I don't own characters from the movie or songs used in this story. I do own my own characters though. (Lenmana/Ally, Rooster/Castel, Maggie/Magpie, Killian, Robin, Laura, Chepi, Ally's parents, Carey...Tajo...I think that's all of them. I may have forgotten a few. If you don't remember the character being in the movie, it's mine.)**_

My story has come to an end. I know this is true, because every good story has three parts to it. It has a beginning, middle, and an end. My story started in the fall of 1899, when I ran away from home. My brother and I left the only home we had ever known in the middle of the night. The middle of this story came just before Thanksgiving, just before the winter of 1899, when we were discovered. So Castel and I packed our things once again and left in the middle of the night-this time to our mama's people in Arizona. The story ended when we made our way back home after I got very sick in the spring of 1900.  
Fortunately, the story ends happily. I made a full recovery and have no lasting effects, except for a slight limp in my left leg. Along the way, Castel and I met some new friends-Spot, Maggie, Tajo, Racetrack, and the rest of the newsies. We also fell in love along the way-Castel with Maggie and I with Racetrack. Chepi made the journey with us back to New York. She stayed until the end of the summer before going back to Arizona. She wrote to me to say that she was doing well and that Toby had asked if Chepi would like to be his girl. Spot managed to patch things up with Robin and his cousin Nevan. They wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend again, but decided to go slow and see how it ended. Tajo and Killian had gotten friendly since helping me escape from the hospital. Just a few days after my surprise party they announced that they had become a couple. Nobody was as surprised as the happy couple had been expecting.  
Castel and Maggie were happy to be reunited. Papa enjoyed teasing them about their constant chatter. He would often ask them with a smile on his face if he could expect them to give him a grandchild that would enter this world with a loud cry. Racetrack was never one to back away from a bet and he and Papa started placing bets on how long before Castel and Maggie got married. Mama and I would stay out of it as much as possible, but sometimes we couldn't resist and made jokes of our own.  
Mama and Papa were happier than they had been in years. As it turns out, it took my running away for them to see that they needed to come to an agreement and stop their arguing. They decided to compromise. Papa still wanted Castel to work with him, but would allow Castel to continue his studies and work with him on the weekends. I was allowed to continue my flute playing as long as I also made time for my studies. Racetrack often came over with Maggie to help me study. Mama taught me the things she thought I should learn and nothing more was said about the matter.  
I have not forgotten about Racetrack and I. We are very happy together. Race's friend Blink got married late that spring. Race was part of the wedding party and his bride had asked Maggie and I if we could play our flutes. We both agreed. Racetrack never looked more handsome than he did that day. We spent several hours dancing after.  
And so my story has reached its end. My name is Lenmana Kachina Allegra "Ally" Moreno and this is my story.

_**So comes the end of another great story. Review and tell me how awesome it was.**_


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